Joost Oude Groeniger

I am developing a vibrant research group dedicated to issues surrounding health prevention and health equity. Using my professional roots in public health and sociology, I uncover transdisciplinary insights that can be used by various stakeholders to develop effective, sustainable and equitable health promotion strategies. To do so, I draw on qualitative and quantitative research methods, and collaborate with scholars in public health, epidemiology, sociology, medicine, economics, psychology, demography, arts and culture, and public administration.

My key expertise concerns understanding the societal causes and consequences of health inequalities, with a specific interest in how health and health-behaviours are influenced by various environmental-level contexts, such as physical, economic, social, cultural, and institutional factors. As an expert on quantitative research methods, I often apply advanced statistical techniques, such as causal mediation analysis, multilevel analyses, and difference-in-differences analysis. Yet, I also strongly believe that qualitative research methods are needed to understand the lived experiences of various societal groups and to better align health promotion efforts to the contexts and lifeworlds of those groups. Therefore, I steer my research group to engage in mixed methods research, where quantitative evidence is combined with insights from qualitative methods, such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, and group model building.

I firmly believe that tackling health inequalities requires collective solutions outside the medical domain. This perspective has proven to be well-suited for academic innovative research with substantial societal relevance. This is evidenced by a combination of various competitive research grants and academic publications together with knowledge dissemination through public outlets and active engagement with policy and practice. The various dissemination materials tailor-made to different audiences that I develop from my research findings aim to solidify the societal impact of my academic endeavours and contribute to tackling the major health challenges of our times.