I am senior researcher at the Amsterdam UMC (location VUmc), department of Public and Occupational Health. My research focus is on the health effects of work, on how this impacts on socioeconomic health inequalities and on finding ways for vulnerable workers to live long and healthy (working) lives. I was intrigued to see that while we know that physical activity is important to live a long and healthy life, those in physically demanding jobs who are most active are worst off in our society when it comes to their health. My research findings are therefore nicely captured in a catchphrase that I tend to borrow from the headline of the Dutch newspaper Trouw that covered one of my studies: Bricklaying is no workout [‘Stenen sjouwen is geen fitness’].

I address this topic with a wide range of multidisciplinary research methods, including quantitative epidemiological methods with cohort studies and (individual participant data) meta-analyses, qualitative methods, intervention research and field- and laboratory-based physiological measurements. I have a multidisciplinary background with a MSc in Human Movement Sciences (VU University), and in Epidemiology (registered Epidemiologist - VUmc) a PhD (VU University). 

Please get in touch by Twitter, Researchgate, LinkedIn or send me an email: p.coenen@amsterdamumc.nl 

Physical work demands; Occupation Health; Lifestyle; Inequalities; Musculoskeletal health; Epidemiology; Meta-analyses; Intervention studies