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Work-ability and recovery is addressed from an Occupational Medicine and Insurance Medicine perspective. Studies from this research group will lead to transferable and usable knowledge for Medical Specialists in general and Occupational- and Insurance physicians specifically.

One ambition of this research group is to enhance the quality of workers' medical examinations (pre-employment and on-employment) and the medical guidance of ageing workers with respect to their workability, especially for workers in jobs with high demands. Almost all research projects are translational in nature and aim to develop, implement or study new medical examination protocols or better examination procedures.

Another ambition is to contribute to better evaluations of work ability, work functioning and job-specific recovery after health problems. We do this by developing and scientifically evaluating instruments and tools to assess and make judgement about work ability, work functioning and job-specific recovery. In addition, research of factors related to work stress, work-related fatigue and related health outcomes remains an ongoing research activity in this group. Our research may be of great help to clinical research too by providing better patient/client related outcomes.

Both ambitions fit within defined themes of the programme Societal Participation & Health as part of the amc-vumc alliance research institute Amsterdam Public Health.

Since 3-2016 I perform the additional role of the AMC-director of one of the alliance research institutes (Amsterdam Public Health research institute). Since 9-2017 I am head of the department.

Between 2011 and 2016, 13 PhD projects were succesfully finished and 9 PhD projects were started. As of april 2017, two new MD PhD projects are to be started (not yet in DOCTOR): one in insurance medicine and one in occupational medicine.

Themes:

• Pre- and on-employment medical examinations (medische keuringen werknemers)
• Workers' Health Surveillance (preventief medisch onderzoek werknemers)
• High-demand jobs (zware beroepen / zware arbeid)
• Workability, work capacity, work functioning (werkvermogen/duurzame inzetbaarheid)
• Ageing (old and young workers; gender specific ageing problems) and workability

Specific topics

• Fatigue and recovery
• Psychological stress, stress hormones and disease
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Psychosocial work environment
• Informal care givers and stress