About us
The Dutch shared decision-making network connects researchers based in The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) who conduct research on shared decision-making and related fields. This network aims to enhance the visibility of members and their research, serving as a collaborative platform for addressing questions within the field, and promoting collaborative efforts. For any inquiries regarding this special interest group, please contact: sdmdutch@proton.me
Anne Stiggelbout
Affiliation: Medical Decision Making, Dept of Biomedical Data Science, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Metro Mapping to Innovate the Care Path Age-related Macular Degeneration: a mixed method study. ZonMw Expertise Functie Zintuiglijk Gehandicapten 2025 (VuMC). The care path for AMD will be redesigned using MetroMapping and the new care path evaluated in a Cluster randomized trial in 8 hospitals.
4D-Picture: Design-based Data-Driven Decision-support Tools: Producing Improved Cancer Outcomes Through User-Centred Research. HORIZON-HLTH-2021. In this project we develop tools (prediction models, AI-based “ metaphore menus” ) in 8 countries and redesign care paths in 6 tumor pathways in 3 countries(NL, ES, DK) using MetroMapping, to support SDM. MetroMapping is evaluated in a pre-test posttest design.
Shared decision-making in cancer care among ethnic minority populations (ZonMw Ethiek en Gezondheid. In interviews with patients and family members with a migrant background, and clinicians treating these patients, values underlying SDM models were explored. In a reflective equilibrium we will evaluate what is needed for SDM in cancer patients with a migrant background.
Improving personalized treatment in oncology. Towards shared decisions based on integrated information regarding treatment options, health status and patient preferences (Dutch Cancer Society Alpe Research Project 2020 . In a multicenter consortium study, we co-create solutions to support the Integrated Oncology Decision Model (model Passend Behandelplan) in 8 carepaths, and evaluate these in a stepped-wedge design.
Email: a.m.stiggelbout@lumc.nl
- Driever EM, Stiggelbout AM, Brand PLP. Shared decision making: Physicians’ preferred role, usual role and their perception of its key components. Patient Educ Couns. 2020;103:77-82
- Stiggelbout AM, Pieterse AH, De Haes JC. Shared decision making: Concepts, evidence, and practice. Patient Educ Couns. 2015;98:1172-9
- Stiggelbout AM, Van der Weijden T, De Wit MPT, Frosch D, Légaré F, Montori VM, Trevena L, Elwyn G. Shared decision making: really putting patients at the centre of health care. BMJ 2012 Jan 27; 344: e256. doi: 10.1136/bmj
Dirk Ubbink
Affiliation: Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Center, location Academic Medical Center, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Implementing SDM at Emergency Departments, in Oncology and in Paediatrics, in the Netherlands and abroad.
Facilitating (the measurement of) SDM in clinical doctor-patient encounters by means of AI.
Assessing and improving the patients’ knowledge and awareness about SDM.
Studying the information sources patients and doctors use to inform the decision-making process.
Training healthcare professionals to improve their SDM communication skills.
Email: d.ubbink@amsterdamumc.nl
- Ubbink DT, Shamoun F, Heuvelsland S, van Etten-Jamaludin FS, Bolt EE. To what extent do general practitioners involve patients in decision-making? A systematic review of studies using the OPTION-instrument. Prim Health Care Res Dev. 2025 Jul 31;26:e67.
- Wijngaarde RO, Gouw SC, Ubbink DT. Improving shared decision making between paediatric haematologists, children with sickle cell disease, and their parents: an observational post-intervention study. Eur J Pediatr. 2025 Jun 12;184(7):417.
- Van Veenendaal H, Peters LJ, van Weele E, Hendriks MP, Schuurman M, Visserman E, Hilders CGJM, Ubbink DT. Effects and Working Mechanisms of a Multilevel Implementation Program for Applying Shared Decision-Making while Discussing Systemic Treatment in Breast Cancer. Curr Oncol. 2022 Dec 23;30(1):236-249.
Arwen Pieterse
Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Datasciences, section Medical Decision Making, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands / University of Oslo, Norway
SDM Projects:
Development and validation of SDM-related measures
Analysis of determinants and outcomes of SDM processes
Communication (e.g. uncertainty)
Use of time during SDM processes
Professional qualities associated with SDM (e.g., curiosity)
Email: A.H.Pieterse@lumc.nl
Trudy van der Weijden
Affiliation:Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute CAPHRI, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Thanee Uittenhout, PhD Maastricht University, KWF-project: Improving personalized treatment in oncology. Towards shared decisions based on integrated information regarding treatment options, health status and patient preferences.
Pieter van Bostraeten, joint PhD Leuven and Maastricht University: Learning shared decision making using AI-driven virtual patients: evaluation of a pilot educational program for undergraduate medical students.
Laura Vriese PhD Maastricht University, ZonMW-project: Effective strategies to better involve patients with multimorbidity and limited health literacy in decision-making in general practice.
Angelique Timmerman, Maastricht University, NWO Comenius project: Designing a longitudinal evidence-informed curriculum for shared decision making in undergraduate medical education using a collaborative approach.
- Baghus A, Giroldi E, Muris J, Stiggelbout A, van de Pol M, Timmerman A, van der Weijden T. Identifying Entrustable Professional Activities for Shared Decision-making in postgraduate medical education: a national Delphi study. Acad Med 2021;96:126-33.
- Joseph-Williams N, Abhyankar P, Boland L, Bravo P, Brenner AT, Brodney S, Coulter A, Giguère A, Hoffman A, Körner M, Langford A, Légaré F, Matlock D, Moumjid N, Munro S, Dahl Steffensen K, Stirling C, van der Weijden T. What Works in Implementing Patient Decision Aids in Routine Clinical Settings? A Rapid Realist Review and Update from the International Patient Decision Aid Standards Collaboration. Med Decis Making 2021 Oct;41(7):907-937.
- Richter R, Jansen J, van der Kraan J, Abbaspoor W, Bongaerts I, Pouwels F, Vilters C, Rademakers J, van der Weijden T. How Inclusive Are Patient Decision Aids for People with Limited Health Literacy? An Analysis of Understandability Criteria and the Communication about Options and Probabilities. Med Decis Making 2025 Feb;45(2):143-155
Dorijn Hertroijs
Affiliation: Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Development and implementation of a decision aid for type 2 diabetes in primary care.
Project involving 10 citizen scientists with type 2 diabetes (including several with limited health literacy) aimed at jointly improving type 2 diabetes care.
Realist review on how and why shared decision-making (SDM) works—or doesn’t work—for people with limited health literacy.
- Tichler A, Hertroijs DFL, Ruwaard D, Brouwers MCGJ, Elissen AMJ. Development of a patient decision aid for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a patient-centered approach. BMC Prim Care. 2025 Mar 22;26(1):81. doi: 10.1186/s12875-025-02772-7. PMID: 40121397; PMCID: PMC11929313.
- Tichler A, Hertroijs DFL, Ruwaard D, Brouwers MCGJ, Hiligsmann M, de Jong JD, Elissen AMJ. Preferred Conversation Topics with Respect to Treatment Decisions Among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2023 Mar 17;17:719-729. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S397647. PMID: 36960182; PMCID: PMC10029372.
- Smeets RGM, Hertroijs DFL, Mukumbang FC, Kroese MEAL, Ruwaard D, Elissen AMJ. First Things First: How to Elicit the Initial Program Theory for a Realist Evaluation of Complex Integrated Care Programs. Milbank Q. 2022 Mar;100(1):151-189. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.12543. Epub 2021 Nov 23. PMID: 34812527; PMCID: PMC8932628.
Roukayya Oueslati
Affiliation: The Hague University of Applied Sciences, research groups Relational and Oncological Care; Leiden University Medical Center, department of Ethics and Law of Healthcare, The Netherlands.
SDM Projects:
SDM with ethnic minority patients in oncological care.
Email: r.oueslati@hhs.nl
Oueslati, R., Woudstra, A. J., Alkirawan, R., Reis, R., van Zaalen, Y., Slager, M. T., Stiggelbout, A. M., & Touwen, D. P. (2024). What value structure underlies shared decision making? A qualitative synthesis of models of shared decision making. Patient Education and Counseling, 124, 108284. 10.1016/j.pec.2024.108284
Oueslati, R., Reis, R., de Vries, M. C., Slager, M. T., van der Sijp, J. R. M., Stiggelbout, A.M., & Touwen, D. P. (2022). Towards culturally sensitive shared decision-making in oncology: A study protocol integrating bioethical qualitative research on shared decision-making among ethnic minorities with ethical reflection. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 16094069221086731. 10.1177/16094069221086731
Jesse Jansen
Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute CAPHRI, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Thanee Uittenhout, PhD Maastricht University, KWF-project: Improving personalized treatment in oncology. Towards shared decisions based on integrated information regarding treatment options, health status and patient preferences.
Laura Vriese PhD Maastricht University, ZonMW-project: Effective strategies to better involve patients with multimorbidity and limited health literacy in decision-making in general practice.
Medication reviews for patients with polypharmacy in Dutch primary care; the role of patient involvement. PhD: Loes Engels, ZonMw project.
Jansen J, Naganathan V, Carter S, Bonner C, Irwig L, McLachlan A, Nickel B, Colvin J, Doust J, Turner R, Heaney, A, McCaffery, K. (2016). Too Much Medicine in older people? Deprescribing through Shared Decision Making. BMJ; 353:i2893. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.i2893.
Nienke de Graef
Affiliation: Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Conducting research on shared decision-making in patients with limited health literacy and improving healthcare with citizen scientists with type 2 diabetes and various health literacy levels.
E-mail: nienke.degraef@maastrichtuniversity.nl
At this point in time, our studies are either under review or in the making
Haske van Veenendaal
Affiliation: Researcher at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management & Trainer at the School for Shared Decision-making, The Netherlands.
SDM Projects:
Implementation research focused on introducing shared decision-making (SDM), with particular attention to eliciting patients’ personal perspectives.
Applying various training modules for shared decision-making, such as providing personal feedback on consultations, engaging in role-playing with actors, and conducting interactive workshops.
Identifying strategies to improve the interplay between shared decision-making and clinical practice guidelines.
Email: haskevanveenendaal@gmail.com
Angelique Timmerman
Affiliation: Psychotherapist and an assistant professor at the department of Family Medicine at Maastricht University, The Netherlands
SDM Projects:
Project leader in an educational design project (Comenius teaching fellowship) for teach the teacher interventions in shared decision making in the undergraduate medical training programme at Maastricht University.
Co-supervisor in a PhD trajectory with KU Leuven, titled Advancing Shared Decision Making: From Clinical Decision Support Tools to Educational Innovations using AI-enhanced Virtual Patients.
Bostraeten P, Timmerman A, Roussel C, Aertgeerts B, Bekkering G, Mertens L, Jaeken J, van der Weijden T, Delvaux N, Vermandere M. Learning shared decision making in undergraduate medical education: a realist review. Archives in Health Sciences Education (2025). Accepted for publication.
Laura Vriese
Affiliation: Maastricht University, CAPHRI (Care And Public Health Research Institute), department of Family Medicine
SDM Projects:
PhD student in the field of shared decision-making, with a focus on values clarification (clarifying what matters to a patient), with patients with limited health literacy and multimorbidity in general practice.
Vriese et al., 2025. Values clarification as part of shared decision-making with patients with limited health literacy in general practice
Vriese et al., 2025. Shared decision-making with patients with limited health literacy – experiences and needs of GPs regarding values clarification