Department of Primary Care Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center
Jeanine Suurmond is a Professor of Inclusive Person-Centered Care for Vulnerable Citizens. Her chair, co-funded by Pharos, the expertise center for health disparities, focuses on improving access to care for individuals in hard-to-reach and vulnerable situations.
What are you working on and how does your work relate to the RUNOMI areas of focus?
The ultimate aim of my work is to decrease health inequalities and inequalities in access to healthcare in the Netherlands. Previous research has found that social position (migration background, education, income) of patients can influence health and access to care. In my research, I investigate now how (health)care that is inclusive and person-centered (by taking into account people’s social position and personal skills, characteristics, circumstances and wishes of their patients or clients), can contribute effectively to improved health and access to care. In addition, our research program focuses on reducing problems and circumstances from life domains that lie outside the direct medical domain, such as debt or homelessness, but that can affect health. For example, our research focuses on preventing homelessness or on the relationship between poverty and stress: Impuls Werkplaats – Impuls Onderzoekcentrum
With the focus in my research on inclusion of citizens with a migration background and intersections with gender, education and income, I like to contribute to RUNOMI’s mission by raising awareness among healthcare professionals and students about health inequalities and how to provide equal healthcare access.
What are some of your main interests in this subject? What needs more study?
We know now very well all the different barriers in healthcare access for patients with a migration background, such as a language barrier between doctor and patients or cultural differences between them. What we, however, do not know well is what effective ways are to tackle these barriers. Therefore our research focuses for example on how to effectively address language barriers by using interpreters or on how to take into account cultural needs of patients.
There is also a gap of knowledge about discrimination and implicit bias in healthcare. While there is an abundance of research on this topic in the United States, there is still little knowledge about it in Dutch healthcare. This is a topic that I like to address with my research in the near future.
What challenges have you come across in your work?
Recently I have been very ill myself. This made me aware of the privileges I had in navigating healthcare (speaking Dutch, knowing how to navigate healthcare, highly educated, large social network, sufficient income). For me it was relatively easy to organize the best possible healthcare and I am sure that also has benefitted my health. The challenge is to make healthcare professionals and students (who often live in their own bubble) aware of their different privileges and how these may influence their opinion, attitude and treatment of patients.
Selected outputs
Diaz E, Gimeno-Feliu LA, Czapka E, Suurmond J, Razum O, Kumar BN. Capacity building in migration and health in higher education: lessons from five European countries. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2024 May 28;41:100818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100818
Video about the development of a ‘social map’ to teach medical students about the social determinants of health: Bits of Innovation: het verhaal achter de Grassroots-beurs – UvA Teaching and Learning Centres (TLC)
Podcast to which I contributed about inclusion and exclusion in healthcare: Wij samen | Podcast on Spotify