Citation. Informed and shared decision-making in curative and preventive health care requires health literacy skills
Goal or mission statement. In my research program we gain insight in informed and shared decision making, and systematically develop and evaluate health literacy sensitive interventions for citizens, patients, and health care providers.
Research themes.
1) Health literacy and decision-making: In curative and preventive health care, individuals are expected to make informed and shared decisions on e.g. participation in screening and vaccination programs, lifestyle changes, and treatment of diseases. This requires adequate health literacy skills, also defined as individual skills to obtain, understand, appraise and apply health related information to make informed decisions. We use mixed methods to gain insight in these health literacy skills, thereby focusing on skills for decision-making in various contexts in prevention, screening and health care.
2) Innovative intervention development: We systematically develop and evaluate innovative strategies for citizens, patients and health care providers to optimize information, communication and decision-making. Examples of strategies are: decision support tools for cancer screening and maternity care; applied games for smoking cessation; social media strategies for blood donor recruitment; and e-learnings for health care providers.
Dr. Mirjam Fransen