Maisie Edwards from Newport has been awarded the Hywel Teifi Memorial Scholarship 2023 and will be using the Scholarship to research the importance of the use of Welsh in primary healthcare settings.
While conducting her research, 22-year-old Maisie will build on her first-class BSc Population Health and Medical Sciences degree and her master's through research course in Medical and Health Care Studies from Swansea University.
Established in 2021, the Hywel Teifi Memorial Scholarship receives a financial contribution from media company Tinopolis Cymru, as well as supporters and friends of Academi Hywel Teifi. Its aim is to support Welsh-medium postgraduate students who want to study a field related to Hywel Teifi's contribution to Welsh-language scholarship and culture.
The judges of this year's scholarship were Tinopolis Executive Director and presenter Angharad Mair, Sir Roderick Evans, Chairman of Academi Hywel Teifi and Professor Gwenno Ffrancon, Director of Academi Hywel Teifi.
Professor Gwenno Ffrancon said: "Academi Hywel Teifi is extremely proud to award the 2023 Hywel Teifi Memorial Scholarship to Maisie Edwards who will conduct research that could have far-reaching impact on our use of the Welsh language in health and care contexts. Her research will aim to highlight the positive effect of using the Welsh language when providing healthcare, and specifically in the context primary healthcare through services provided by GPs – which is the population's frontline healthcare service in essence. It will also assess whether the use, or lack of use, of the Welsh language has an impact on residents in care homes and patients with chronic conditions in terms of their physical and mental health and their ability to remember information. We wish her well and I'm sure we'll have a valuable study from her in three years' time."
On receiving the scholarship, Maisie said: "It's a tremendous privilege and honour to receive the Hywel Teifi Memorial Scholarship and I'm incredibly grateful. My research explores the importance of Welsh in fostering effective communication between care provider and patient to achieve better health outcomes within primary healthcare provision.
"I am inspired by Professor Hywel Teifi Edwards' unwavering contribution and commitment to Welsh language, learning and culture and feel passionate to continue to promote the Welsh language within my field of research. Swansea University and the Welsh community have played a big part in my academic life, and I look forward to representing them with the support and assistance of the Scholarship."
Angharad Mair said: "We as a company are privileged to be involved in the awarding of the Hywel Teifi Memorial Scholarship. Professor Hywel Teifi was a great friend of our daily programmes Heno and Prynhawn Da for S4C, and a regular contributor and keen supporter. It's great to see that this year's award is being presented for research that is so important to so many people in Wales when looking at the Welsh language in tandem with healthcare. We wish Maisie well with her research."