Dr. A.H. (Arwen) Pieterse

I supervise research on patient-centered care, with a focus on shared decision making (SDM) between patients and clinicians, and welcome collaborations on the topic. I train medical students at the LUMC and clinicians throughout the Netherlands in SDM. I co-authored an SDM model that the Dutch Federation of Medical Specialists and Dutch patient organizations adopted as the framework to train, evaluate and support SDM. I co-authored a practical guide for clinicians on SDM (Shared decision making voor artsen: Samen beslissen over de best passende behandeling.

I have obtained multiple grants to study and teach shared decision making, in particular in oncology (research themes Cancer and Prevention & Lifestyle). I have involved clinical partners, patient representatives and patient organizations in writing grants and designing and conducting studies. I co-authored >100 peer-reviewed papers in international journals, and multiple book chapters. I received the 2018 Jozien Bensing Research career Award from the International Association on Communication in Healthcare (EACH). Since 2017 I am Associate editor of Patient Education & Counseling, ranked top 11th of 95 in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. I chaired the 2022 International Conference on Communication in Healthcare. The main focus of my ongoing research is the extent to which patients can meaningfully contribute to decisions about health care and how they, their treating clinicians, and others can be supported to integrate an individual patient’s priorities into the choices made.