Aletta’s Researchers Day

During Aletta's Researchers Day, which took place recently at House of Connections, researchers from a wide variety of disciplines engaged in a conversation about how to make societal impact. The five themes of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health took centre stage. Read the full story on the interactive event.

Text: Jelle Posthuma

Ruth Sudhölter, Project Manager Strategy at the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health (AJSPH), listed the participants at the beginning of the meeting. The gathered researchers turned out to be from various disciplines and institutions, with the University of Groningen, Hanze, UMCG and NHL Stenden all represented. ‘It's really great to see how many of you have taken the time to be part of this process of designing, developing and defining the five Aletta themes,’ she told the audience.

Aletta's Researchers Day is an important step in the thematic approach of Aletta, Sudhölter continued. ‘We believe we can maximise our impact by focusing on key themes and ultimately work towards our mission: more healthy years for everyone.’

Doomsday and superheroes

This was echoed by Erik Buskens, scientific director of Aletta. He provided an introduction to the group of attendees.We live in a troubled world, Buskens noted. At this juncture, there is an ever-increasing task for knowledge institutions to actively contribute to solving major societal challenges. He listed ten of these challenges, such as an ageing population, the environment and deepening inequality. 

In addition, Groningen ‘scores’ below the national average in several health areas. Buskens compared the current situation to ‘doomsday’: 60 per cent of the population is struggling with obesity, one in four works in healthcare and a similar share is older than 65. Nij Begun, the Dutch government's billion-euro plan to repay the ‘ereschuld’ to Groningen, offers opportunities to address these issues, Buskens said. 

According to him, Aletta’s communities can help address the societal challenges in a coordinated way. Groningen is the perfect ‘testbed’ to apply ‘Health in All Policies’. And the Aletta's member researchers are the ‘superheroes’ who will help tackling the challenges, Buskens argued. Just like Aletta Jacobs, the namesake of our School, did in her time.

With that message, the researchers present split off to discuss how research can make more societal impact during interactive sessions. They discussed how to shape the Aletta's five themes, namely: Future-proof Health Systems, Technology for Public Health, A Healthy Living Environment, Planetary Health and Health as Lived Experience.

Not just a profession

When it came to ‘Planetary Health’, it was noted that the topic is very close to the hearts of the researchers involved. Planetary health is not only a research topic, but above all a social movement. There is broad willingness among the researchers to approach this theme from an interdisciplinary angle, stressing the importance of supporting researchers in how to put this way of working into practice.

David Patterson, PhD researcher at the Faculty of Law of the UG, commented afterwards: ‘There is good will on all fronts to communicate, learn from each other and work together to strengthen planetary health. At the same time, it sometimes seems like we speak different languages, even though we use the same words. Academic study has become so siloed and narrow, when it was not always this way. Aletta offers a unique opportunity to cross disciplinary boundaries and address both global and local health issues.'

Complexity highlights importance of collaboration

At ‘Future-proof Health Systems’, the discussion first revolved around the definition of health. According to those present, the current system is unable to meet health challenges. Decentralisation of care should lead to more accessible health services at community level. This contributes to a healthier population and strengthens the economy through preventive care and inclusive policies.

‘Technology for Public Health’ also focused first on the ‘scope’ and focus of the theme, and a definition of public health. Important outcomes of the meeting were plans for a course on digital health and epidemiology, possibly as an extension to existing programmes or through a summerschool. The importance of communicating on cost-effectiveness of prevention was also highlighted.

According to Elisabeth Wilhelm, assistant professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the UG, the day showed how many different aspects need to be taken into account when it comes to healthy ageing. ‘The complexity of the topics discussed highlights that only interdisciplinary efforts facilitated by Aletta can help to find workable solutions to pressing healthcare challenges.’

Leaving the ivory tower

The diversity of the group of researchers present stood out during the interactive session of the theme ‘A Healthy Living Environment’. The importance of engaging with different communities, including the hard-to-reach, to include their perspectives in creating a healthy living environment was emphasised. Researchers need to ‘come out of the ivory tower’ for this purpose. Cooperation between different communities in Groningen on a healthy living environment is also vital to avoid fragmentation.

Linet Weening-Verbree, dental hygienist and (lecturer) researcher at Hanze University, reflected afterwards: ‘Something that really concerns me, and that I heard mentioned often during the meeting, is social inequality and the need to focus on it. It would be especially valuable if care and prevention reached the groups that benefit the most. That’s where we can truly make a difference. So: focus on groups with a low socioeconomic status and limited access to care.’

Nice brainstorm with various disciplines

The last theme, Health as Lived Experience, revolved around health as a dynamic and subjective topic, which is not just about the human body. Moreover, health is experienced differently by each individual. Key points included the need for bottom-up perspectives, communication with policymakers, visibility (e.g. through arts initiatives) and collaboration of various disciplines.

Miente Pietersma, historian and PhD researcher at the UG, commented afterwards: ‘Looking back on the sessions, I was struck by the extent to which people were eventually able to step outside their own discipline. Of course, at first people tend to reason from their own background, but in the end a nice brainstorm emerged in the two sessions I attended.’

Aletta's Researchers Day took place on 4 April at House of Connections. More information on the different themes of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health can be found on the website.