Expectations are high as for patient engagement and shared decision making, but providing patients with more numerical evidence will just overwhelm them. We must reduce complexity of health information and health systems, especially for those who are vulnerable.
Olga was trained as a Social Psychologist (2005) and completed her PhD thesis about measuring and reporting Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) at NIVEL/Tilburg University (2010). Since 2010, she has worked as a researcher in the field of risk communication, shared decision making and patient engagement at the department of Public & Occupational Health at VU medical center and EMGO+ (now Amsterdam UMC and Amsterdam Public Health institute).
Her current research is directed at translating RCT-derived evidence, prognostic model predictions, and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) into meaningful information for patients and health professionals (shared decision making) and the general public (informed decision making in public health). This risk communication challenging, especially when people face emotional distress or have lower health literacy/numeracy. Her research is connected to the transition of healthcare to outcomes-oriented healthcare (Passende Zorg).
She is also the internship coordinator of the department of Public & Occupational Health and responsible for education about quality of care and patient safety, shared decision making and risk communication at VUmc medical school.