Published on February 6 2020 – Together with Ellen Smets, Marij Hillen (Amsterdam UMC), Julia van Weert and Annemiek Linn have received a grant from the Dutch Cancer Society to understand which patients use online health information, when and how they do that, and for which reasons. The consortium will also investigate how this online health information is discussed during consultations, and whether or not this affects patient outcomes.
The project’s main aim is to gain more insight in how the two primary sources of health information for patients – online information and information provided by their clinician – can be successfully combined. With this project the researchers also aim to achieve more awareness about the benefits and possible adverse effects of online information among Dutch patients and their clinicians. The results from the project should yield significant impact on the quality of care for cancer patients.
The grant is worth nearly 500.000 euros and will be used to hire a part-time post-doc and a PhD student.