Research Area

I research in the fields of health policy, governance, and public trust in data use within healthcare systems.

During the next years, I lead the DSI funded research project «Data handling, security and protection: reaching conceptual equivalence for the concept of public trust in national electronic health records in Switzerland and neighbouring countries». Public trust in data handling, security, and protection is fundamental to the success of data driven healthcare system activities, such as the introduction of national electronic health records (EHR). Unfortunately, there exists little conceptual clarity of what public trust in EHRs within respective healthcare systems is. One of the main motivations to care about public trust is that, if there is no public trust in healthcare system actors and their activities, these actors lack public legitimacy to act and the public does not take part in healthcare system activities. Considering national political interests, cross-border healthcare and international health data transfer more broadly, a precise conceptual understanding of public trust is necessary to inform efforts to implement EHRs. The aim of the project is to develop the concept of public trust in EHRs with the same meaning for Switzerland and neighbouring countries. This will inform health governance and health policy making to increase public trust in EHRs and health data use in general. For the project I work with Prof. von Wyl (IfIS/DSI, UZH) and Prof. Thouvenin (Faculty of Law, UZH). The project bridges the disciplines of health system and policy research, digital health, data law and data security.

Academic Career

I studied European Public Health (BSc) at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and Health Economics, Policy and Management (MMedSc) at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. I wrote my PhD at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK on public trust in healthcare systems. During that time, I worked at the Health Foundation, London, as a policy intern to contribute to a review of GP quality indicators.

Before starting at the Digital Society Initiative, UZH, I worked at the Health Ethics and Policy Lab, ETH Zürich. Previously, I was a research associate at THIS.Institute, University of Cambridge, UK. I am a Fellow of the Swiss School of Public Health and an Associate Editor for Public Health Reviews.