Research and education

With our vision in mind, i4PH stimulates cooperation between professionals from different backgrounds. We achieve this by bringing together experts from the TU Eindhoven, Wageningen University & Research, Utrecht University and the UMC Utrecht (and their networks) in a multidisciplinary approach at the cutting edge of research into health, lifestyle, living environment and technology.

The work is organised around four themes:

• Healthy Start: which lifestyle interventions work best for young people with a low socio-economic status and other disadvantages? 
• Preserving Health: which lifestyle interventions work best with adults with a low socio-economic status?
• Health@Home: which technology tools help older people to live independently at home for longer and encourage young people with mental disabilities to live healthily?
• Living with Disease: how do you improve the quality of life of people with a chronic disease?

Our activities are in line with, and complement, the Knowledge and Innovation Agenda Health & Care 2020-2023.

Knowledge and Innovation Agenda Health & Care 2020-2023 Five Extra years in good health and 30% less difference in health status between high and low socio-economic classes. That is the mission of the Healthcare Knowledge and Innovation Agenda 2020-2023. The document was formulated by the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The mission translates into a number of concrete goals for disease prevention. i4PH is working on the following three:  1) That, by 2040, there will be 30% less disease in the Netherlands caused by unhealthy lifestyles and living environments. 2) That, by 2030, 50% more (or more often) care will be organised in people’s own environments (instead of in healthcare institutions), and this care will be incorporated into their existing support networks. 3) That, by 2030, 25% of people with a chronic disease or life-limiting disability will be able to participate in society as much as they wish and are able.

EduXchange platform

We are also developing an interdisciplinary training programme for(future) researchers, technicians and other professionals, which embraces the EduXchange platform. And we are building a community in which professionals from different disciplines can exchange knowledge, experience and ideas about preventive health. This, of course, includes parties from the field such as universities of applied sciences, policy makers and companies. We arrange pressure-cooker workshops, summits, lunch meetings and webinars on various themes.