Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

My starting point was to incorporate a feminist perspective into the research

When Gar Lozano Real began his degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, he was not clear that this would be his path: “I also had biology, nursing and physiotherapy among my options, but I also practiced sport and I thought it was the one that best suited me at the time,” he recalls.

He loved being so practical and having a health perspective. At the end of the degree, most of the classmates planned to study the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training. Lozano, for his part, decided to enter the world of research: “I was clear that I liked research, that I had a passion for studying or learning things. Because I like to understand or try to see things from other perspectives. In the meantime, I was doing internships in health research.

She explains that she was mostly studying hypertension data in women to find out if their cardiovascular risk is the same after or before menopause. He enjoyed it and, with the Master barely completed, a project was launched in collaboration with the Department of Physiotherapy of the UPV/EHU. He then began his research as a hired researcher with older people.

“Older people don’t seem to be in our everyday lives

“I was taking physical exercise interventions with older people and collecting data for almost two years, and it was incredibly enriching. To begin with, I was already very clear that it is essential to work with a gender perspective. And with them I learned that there are as many people excluded by age as by gender. It seems that older people are not in our daily lives. Having been in the residences of Gipuzkoa, I had the opportunity to know the panorama of each town and I learned a lot,” he admits.

However, he decided that he would choose another area to do his PhD. Then he went on vacation for a month and suddenly his phone rang: “At the University of Deusto, in the Department of Physiotherapy, I was offered the opportunity to teach both in Physiotherapy and in the Degree in Physical Activity Sports Sciences. Since I had to give things I liked, I said yes.”

Therefore, although at the time he opted for the master’s degree in teacher training, he began to work as a teacher, although with more mature students. However, he jokes that there is not so much difference between teaching university students and high school students. “And I think there’s less and less of a difference. That’s what teachers always say, isn’t it? The new generations seem more immature than the previous ones.” The tone of the voice denounces the satisfaction with the students.

Be with Inur

Thus, in the second year, the thesis director encouraged them to enroll in the doctoral program in Health, Welfare and Bioethics, presenting a project together with the Izan Inurri association: “This project is incredibly beautiful for me. This is a study on the decision-making process in breast cancer, which includes how to take on the role of what women with cancer tell or the situations they experience. First we presented it at Emakunde and we won the grant,” he says.

“How to help everyone make their own decision, without prejudice and without conditioning.”

“Impressive”, that is the word that defines the work that is being done in the project. “Everyone lives in their own way. That’s why in this decision-making process we have to see what everyone has in common and then how to help everyone make their own decision, without prejudice and without conditioning.”

It is currently in the analysis phase. To carry out his thesis, he plans to publish three scientific articles and the first one is already underway. To begin with the second, the interviews are being analyzed in depth.

Looking back, he thinks that when he started studying the degree he did not imagine that he would be doing a thesis like this years later, but thinking about it, he concludes “I think people who are interested should meet. And that's what happened to me. My starting point was to incorporate a feminist perspective into research, which I have always sought. Now I’m incredibly happy to be here and learn a lot.”

He admits that he still suffers from the scammer’s syndrome at times, since his degree is more related to sports than to health. “However, I think that in this case it has been beneficial for me to have entered from the outside. In fact, I have entered without prejudice and I am very grateful, both to the patients and to the professionals. It is true that the structure of the system is very conditioned, but we have all collaborated generously and I think it has been good for everyone.”

The objective is to generate resources for the decision-making process and validate what is in English in Spanish. Later, they would like to adapt to Basque and other languages, since more and more women come from other countries with other languages and cultures. “We’ve got something to do,” he finished.

Gar Lozano was born in Real Lezo in 1994. Graduated in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, she has a master’s degree in research and is currently immersed in research projects. It investigates the decision-making processes and quality of life of people diagnosed with breast cancer through testimonies and questionnaires. She emphasizes her interest and curiosity in feminist research.