My research focuses on patient- and family participation in clinical (nursing) care, and evidence-based wound care.

The first area, patient- and family participation in clinical care is based on the recognition that patients and families are essential partners for quality and safety in care. An adequate delivery of patient- and family centred care by nurses is important as it confers many benefits to patients and families, but also to nurses in terms of work satisfaction. From the societal perspective there may be additional benefits as well. Worldwide the healthcare system is under immense pressure as the demand for care and costs will increase considerably in the upcoming years. By 2040, when the aging of the Dutch population is at its peak, this will need to be 1 in 4 to keep up with the current demand for care according to the Ministry of Health (2018). This assignment seems to be impossible. It stands to reason that in the future, patients should seek more informal help within their own network. Nurses are in a unique position to facilitate the core principles of family-centred care and to prepare informal caregivers for this task.

In the area of wound care, I mainly focus on preoperative and postoperative surgical wound care interventions. Wounds which do not heal by primary intention has tremendous impact on quality of life of patients, but can also have an impact on their kins (i.e. family members). Treatments may hinder their freedom or social and societal participation. As such, effective management of surgical wounds is an essential nursing activity. Nurses are playing a significant role in patient care and in reducing the social and economic burden on the healthcare system. Present day, there is still a considerable variability in surgical wound care. Inconsistent practices often arise due to conflicting research evidence and variations in clinician preferences. To provide better wound care, there is a compelling need for better evidence on the effectiveness of interventions, but also on the importance of patient- and family education and participation across the continuum of surgical wound care. A part of the wound care research is carried out in close collaboration with the Griffith University where I have an appointment as an adjunct senior research fellow.