The grant application for an Academic Workplace submitted by Sicco Bus and Jaap van Netten to the ZonMw “Goed Gebruik Hulpmiddelen” program has been awarded. The Academic Workplace is called HOMELAND and focuses on reducing the number of amputations in people with diabetes and other neuropathies by improving device care in the user's home situation.
An Academic Workplace is a large and broad partnership of parties from different sectors that jointly set up a sustainable research and knowledge infrastructure to effectively apply scientific knowledge in clinical practice and education and to retrieve relevant questions from practice to answer these questions. Within HOMELAND, parties from medical (academic) care (Amsterdam UMC, 7 other hospitals), practice partners (podiatry practices, home care organization, rehabilitation center), education (MBO, HBO, WO), medical aid providers and technicians (e.g. shoe technical companies), and users of these devices and their representatives (Diabetes Vereniging Nederland) work closely together to achieve the objectives of the Academic Workplace. It is also an open platform to which other parties can join during the term of the grant, and thereafter. Jaap van Netten will be the coordinator of HOMELAND. The term is 6 years and the awarded grant is €574,345.