PhD defence W.S. (Willem) Sipma

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation: 

This thesis highlights the opportunities that lie ahead to improve healthcare services by engaging patients. Listening to patients, their stories and their experiences may not only be useful in the consulting room, but also at the organizational level and at the policy level. To offer appropriate and personalized care that is affordable, patient engagement is a must. Giving patients a voice in how health services are organized may lead to a higher level of well-being of patients in their daily lives. The author has interviewed dozens of patients and healthcare providers to write this thesis. The author uses the theory of service-dominant (S-D) logic that states that patients are the creators of real value in healthcare. Medical support enables patients to resume their life as normal as possible, with their family, at work or enjoying social activities. The setting of the studies that are described is focused on renal care, but the findings are very practical can well be transferred to other patient groups.