In both my role as coordinator nursing research and senior researcher, my focus is on empowerment of nurses in patient care.

As a coordinator nursing research, I have initiated a vision and mission on nursing research, co-worked on a strategy on nursing research including academic nursing career paths, and contribute to the ongoing implementation of this strategy.

In my position as senior researcher, my focus is on empowering nurses in patient care networks, especially in end-of-life care and in improving outcomes, e.g. infection prevention. Aim of my research line is to empower nurses to take active part in management and decisions in complex, interprofessional networks, to support evidence-based decisions that contribute to improved outcomes and experiences. I supervise PhD students using quantitative and qualitative designs.

The focus on participation is also present in the process of research projects, in which I often use principles of participatory action research. In order to realize sustainable outcomes in practice, I work closely together with end-users in designing and conducting research projects, such as patient representatives, nurses, physicians and other health care professionals, policy makers and designers. As for research designs, I am familiar with mixed methods, often combining quantitative and qualitative research methods.

I am member of the section Quality and Organization of Care, Department of Public and Occupational Health. QOC is a multidisciplinary section that aims to improve the quality and organization of public, curative, and palliative health care for citizens, patients and health care professionals, organizations and health care systems by performing research and translating scientific knowledge into practice, policy and education.

Within this section my research falls with the research group Public Health at the End of Life and Quality and Organization of Care. The research group Public Health at the End of Life aims to contribute to quality of life and quality of dying of people with a life-threatening illness and to also contribute to the wellbeing of their relatives. First and foremost by studies on the quality and organization of care at the end of life, in all health care settings and among all stakeholders. Important subthemes are advance care planning, palliative care, family care, nursing care and decision-making at the end-of-life.

The research group Quality and Safety of Health care aims to increase scientific knowledge on determinants at the organization, professional and patient level and to translate this knowledge to implementation of evidence based interventions. Specific themes are: patient safety in hospitals, safety II, teamwork, tools for teams, and value based personalized health care.

Nurses' empowerment, nurses' retention, role of nurses in improving quality of care and decision making, patient participation

Coordinator nursing research, senior researcher, member of Amsterdam Research Board