Theses and internships at the Health and Society Group

BSc thesis

• Women’s experiences of natural disasters in India: Why disaster impacts should be considered gendered
• A Social Network Analysis Approach to Understanding Health and Well-being: A Comparative Study of Dutch Immigrants and Native-born Individuals in The Netherlands
• Promoting mental wellbeing of university students through an outdoor academic greenspace

MSc thesis

• A realist evaluation of green mental health treatment: GGZ on a care farm
• Hybrid accountability in global health public-private partnerships: A literature and case study
• Changes in social capital among community actors: a case study of Velingara, Senegal

MSc internships

• Strengthening public health professionals to participate in policymaking in the Eastern part of the WHO European Region (EUPHA)
• Happyles project: a school program that focuses on preventing symptoms of depression and increasing well-being of adolescents (Trimbos)
• Zoonotic risk factors and research and policy opportunities (Noord-Brabant Province)

• The use of social network analysis to study the social relationships of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Social media, social networks and health
• COVID-19, social isolation, and health behaviors
• Global health inequities
• Adverse childhood events and later life health
• Social drivers of food choice

• How to enable consumer engagement in sustainable, healthful eating practices?
• Which experiences support the construction of meaning and purpose to eating healthfully and sustainably?
• (How) do sustainable eating practices spill-over to other behaviours and within which contexts?
• How do people cope with everyday challenges towards healthful and sustainable eating?

• The application of salutogenesis to work, communities and neighbourhoods: the role of learning
• Natural outdoor environments and health: environmental justice, healthy urban environments, green/blue spaces and recreation, green daycare
• The built environment and health: e.g. city planning & healthy architecture, age-friendly design
• Realist synthesis evaluation, Participatory Action Research, creative research methods

• Empowerment of pregnant women and women with a baby and their partners to have a healthier dietary intake. The development, implementation and evaluation of an integral empowerment strategy
• Combined lifestyle interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity. This includes research on (the best) tools for professionals to implement combined lifestyle interventions and the impact of these interventions on multiple levels, short- and long term, etc.
• (Community) health promotion and socially vulnerable groups: e.g. physical activity, reproductive and sexual health, pregnancy, nutrition
• (Organisation of) hospital care
• Public Health Policy, Citizen participation, Citizen science, Intersectoral collaboration, the social environment of health
• Use of (participatory) action research methods, in combination with other research methods

• Social-psychological determinants of health behaviour. For instance, the role of (self- or social) identity, perceived scarcity, social norms, affect and self-regulation in physical activity and eating behaviour
• Social-psychological outcomes of health behaviour. For instance, the impact of physical activity on wellbeing, emotional or cognitive skills
• Socially vulnerable people (e.g., low SES) and physical activity and/or dietary behaviour
• Interactions between health behaviours
• Understanding (un)healthy behaviour by unravelling the interaction between individuals and their social and physical environment

• Innovation and transformation of prevention, health promotion, social and healthcare
• Health Impact Assessment of public policies at local, national or European level
• Intersectoral collaboration/coordination for health in urban or spatial planning and development
• Evaluation of local or regional health partnerships, networks or alliances
• Climate, infectious diseases and health
• Politics and health: political parties, political systems and interest representation
• Health diplomacy, advocacy, lobbying and other strategies for global and local public health
• Planetary health policy, One health governance

Research on understanding:

• The attitudes and behaviors towards people with chronic conditions or medically unexplained symptoms
• Stigma and coping with the stigma surrounding bariatric surgery
• Cross-cultural differences in health and behavior

• Nature and health
• Community gardens
• Healthy living environment
• Global health
• Climate and health, heat vulnerability
• Local food systems
• Social justice
• Citizen initiatives, social participation

• The impact of climate change on the distribution of infectious diseases; One Health; Planetary health
• Infectious disease control and surveillance, mainly Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), zoonotic diseases, and vector-borne diseases
• Geospatial mapping and risk mapping
• Disease outbreak management and resilience, including real-time data collection and reporting
• Risk factor analysis and predictive modelling (incl. environmental, social and economic determinants) of disease transmission
• Health system strengthening and capacity building in middle- and low-income countries
• Mixed-Methods research

• Dietary change
  • How do people cope with healthy & sustainable eating in everyday life?
  • How to support people in making dietary changes (lifestyle)
  • Healthy eating for people with diabetes type 2
  • Psychosocial determinants of healthy eating practices
• Mixed methods evaluation
  • Evaluation of activities/interventions to promote healthy & sustainable eating in a real-life setting
  • Combining quantitative and qualitative reserach to evaluate impact of interventions (realist evaluation)