Health Promotion
The mission of the research unit is to promote a healthy environment and lifestyle, with special attention to reducing health inequalities.
We mainly focus on primary prevention with special attention to:
- physical, cognitive, mental and social health
- sleep, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, substance use (smoking and alcohol)
- adolescents/young adults and older adults
Topics
What?
- Identifying determinants of health (behaviour)
- Monitoring health (behaviour) and its determinants
- Studying social inequalities in health (behaviour) and its determinants
- Developing and implementing 'theory- and evidence-based' health promotion interventions
- Conducting effect and process evaluation of health promotion interventions
How?
- Research methods: equal attention to quantitative and qualitative methods, often mixed approach; participatory research; virtual reality; systematic reviews
- Intervention planning methods: Intervention Mapping Protocol, with specific attention to integration of participatory approach with different stakeholders
- Measurement methods: use of (focus group) interviews, questionnaires, observations, objective measuring instruments
Main activities
- Research activities within health promotion
- Teaching within the Master Health Promotion
- Societal valorization (e.g. scientific communication, policy advice, provision of developed and evaluated interventions and tools)
- Scientific services (e.g. editor/reviewer for scientific journals/projects)
Most important projects
Current projects within the research group are:
- WHO Europe collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, Flanders. A repeated cross-sectional study on adolescent health, health behaviours and their social environment. The study is influential for regional/national and international public health policy and practice.
- FWO JEZ project GreenMinds. This project seeks to quantify and deepen our understanding of the impact of school-based greenspace on the mental wellbeing of Flemish adolescents.
- Doctoral project with the aim of developing actions to reduce alcohol consumption among Flemish university students. We are also involved in Head in the Clouds: a repeated cross-sectional survey on substance use among Flemish higher education students, in collaboration with the Flemish Expertise Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs (VAD). The survey addresses themes such as alcohol, tobacco, gaming, gambling, medication use, and mental well-being.
- Doctoral project funded by Kom op tegen Kanker, in partnership with the University of Antwerp and in collaboration with VAD. This research project aims to develop co-created actions that encourage Flemish university students to choose water and non-alcoholic beverages during nightlife as positive approach to reducing alcohol consumption.
- Doctoral project funded by FWO and Stichting Tegen Kanker, investigating nicotine product use and the effects of national nicotine and tobacco policies among adolescents.
- Clear Air Collaborative, a Kom op tegen Kanker research project aiming to develop, implement, and evaluate a toolkit that supports teachers in vocational education in co-creating preventive actions on nicotine use together with students, using a participatory approach.
- Kom Op Tegen Kanker project with the aim of developing, implementing, and evaluating an intervention to prevent smoking initiation among vulnerable adolescents through youth social work organisations, using a participatory approach. The developed intervention (KickAsh!) is currently being expanded to also address vaping prevention, in response to the increasing prevalence of vaping among adolescents.
- FWO research project aiming to scale up an evidence-based, participatory sleep health intervention for adolescents in vocational education. The intervention was previously co-created with students and teachers and shown to be effective. The current project focuses on cascading the intervention towards sustainable, school-led implementation. More information: project-sleep.be.
- FWO research project aiming to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention targeting sedentary behaviour at school and at home performing school-related taksks in adolescents at secondary schools using a participatory approach. The Intervention Mapping Protocol is used as a guideline.
- FWO research project with the aim to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour among people with a mental disorder who live in sheltered housing. The project involves the development of an intervention through co-creation and will subsequently be implemented and evaluated.
More information about the projects
Most important national and international partnerships
- Collaborations with Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Flemish Institute Healthy Living
- the Flemish expertise center for Alcohol and other Drugs (VAD)
- Maastricht University
- Amsterdam UMC
- Deakin University
- University of Agder
- University of Oslo
- University of Zaragoza
- University of Porto
and many more.
Collaborators
- Benedicte Deforche (Full Professor; head of the research group)
- Maïté Verloigne (Associate Professor)
- Laurien Van den Berge (Assistant; PhD student)
- Jasmine Mommen (Practice Assistant)
- Elke Ghyllebert (Practice Assistant)
Postdoctoral researchers
- Louise Poppe
- Maxim Dierckens
- Anneke Vandendriessche
- Veerle Van Oeckel
- Kenji Leta
- Karen Schrijvers
Phd Students
- Babette Demeester
- Ine Baert
- Marie Van Cauwenberge
- Ella Decrop
- Linde Samyn
- Margaux Rigole
- Jason Hofman