My research focuses on tobacco control, specifically on the question how policies at the national, local, and organizational level can prevent smoking initiation and effectively facilitate smoking cessation. I aim to understand what the effects of different tobacco control policies are and how they do or do not work. A central question in my work is how policies may help in reducing the large socioeconomic inequalities in smoking that many countries are facing.

With our research, I aim to contribute to the ambition for a smoke-free Netherlands (the 2040 Smokefree Generation goal) by providing high quality scientific evidence. I advise and work with stakeholders in tobacco control policy practice, to achieve a more direct societal impact.

The projects that I lead use quantitative and qualitative methods to both quantify policy impact and to understand how policies work, often from the perspectives of the target group and various other stakeholders. I have extensive experience evaluating natural policy experiments, and I have applied innovative methodology including elements of geographical analysis, systems science, developmental evaluation, and participatory methods.

Tobacco control, smoking, policy evaluation, prevention, public health, epidemiology

No ancillary activities

Ancillary activities are updated daily

Dr. Mirte Kuipers is the internship coordinator for the VU Master Health Sciences. In their internship, students carry out a 5-month research project on which they write a scientific paper. Internships take place in various organisations throughout the Netherlands and also abroad.

Dr. Kuipers' research at Amsterdam UMC (Department of Public and Occupational Health) focuses on tobacco control, specifically on the question how policies at the national, local, and organizational level can prevent smoking initiation and effectively facilitate smoking cessation.