The association International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) has awarded Cristina García-Vivar, vice dean of research of the School of Nursing at the University of Navarra, the"2015 Innovative Contribution to Family Nursing Award".

It is one of eight awards that recognize professionals, teachers and researchers who have made a significant contribution to the transformation and advancement of family health around the world. The other winners come from the USA, Sweden, Japan, Denmark and Canada.

Professor García-Vivar is an expert in family health. Her research is framed in the field of the family as a care unit, especially in families living with a chronic process such as cancer or degenerative processes. She is currently the principal investigator of a project, funded by the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness, based on a training intervention program aimed at train for nursing professionals to work with family caregivers of dependent persons.

García-Vivar has a degree in Nursing from the University of Navarra (2000) and a PhD in Nursing from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (2007). She is a member of the committee board of directors of the IFNA and belongs to the high school de research Sanitaria de Navarra (IDISNA).

The award was presented in Denmark at the 12th International Family Nursing Conference, an event that brings together global leaders in the sector every two years to promote for an interdisciplinary discussion on the promotion of family health in different social and healthcare contexts. 450 people from 33 countries participated in this meeting, under the theme "Improving Family Health Globally through Research, Education, and Practice".