Specialization
Rehabilitation Medicine, Human Movement Sciences, Physiotherapy
Focus of research
The general objective of my research line is to provide a contribution to rehabilitation and allied health care by means of the development, scientific foundation and implementation of interventions aimed at improving the functioning of people with a complex health status / complex care demand.
I am mainly involved in research concerning rehabilitation in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic widespread pain), and patients with cancer (with a focus on peri-operative care). These patients often have other diseases in addition to their index disease, which may lead to multiple problems in daily life and a complex health care demand.
The themes addressed in my research line are: (1) lifestyle interventions in healthcare (with a focus on exercise), (2) self-management, behavioral change and the role of technology and (3) supporting clinical reasoning of health professionals in case of a complex health status / a complex care demand.
I have extensive experience in setting up, conducting and supervising clinical trials, cohort studies and systematic literature reviews. More recently, I am also involved in implementation research.
I value close cooperation and exchange of expertise between practitioners and researchers. Implementation of research in clinical practice has my full attention, as also expressed by my contribution to (development of) graduate and post-graduate educational programs in higher education and by supervising Bachelor and Master students in ongoing studies.