NWO grant for ACHC researchers to develop a decision aid to bridge language barriers in healthcare

Published on October 11, 2021 – Together with Jeanine Suurmond (Amsterdam UMC), and in collaboration with KU Leuven and Ghent University, Barbara Schouten and Julia van Weert have received a grant from the Dutch Research Council. The grant will be used to investigate how an online decision aid can be developed to overcome language barriers between healthcare providers and migrant patients with low Dutch language proficiency. The research team will also investigate how this decision aid is discussed during consultations and whether this influences patient outcomes. 

The aim of the project is to gain more insight into when, how, for whom, and for what purposes the online decision aid can be used effectively to mitigate language barriers in healthcare. The results of the project are expected to have a significant impact on the quality of healthcare communication with migrant patients.

The grant is over 600,000 euros and will be used to hire a PhD student (Brittany Chan). A part-time postdoctoral researcher will also be appointed at KU Leuven.