Health Contexts
About the research group
The Health Contexts research group, a joint initiative by the AUAS and the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), focuses on the urban living environment, where significant health disparities exist between people in favourable and less favourable socio-economic positions, and where diversity is high. The research explores major urban health issues such as obesity and loneliness but also prioritises the problems that residents themselves consider important, as well as the solutions they propose.
A key part of the research is involving residents as co-researchers. Together with them, the research group develops new ways to make neighbourhoods healthier. This is especially relevant now, as cities are undergoing major changes, such as new construction projects and developments in energy and sustainability. These changes also impact the health and well-being of residents.
Citizen science plays a major role in the SPRONG Bridge2Health programme, where the AUAS, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences collaborate. By conducting research together in practice, we gain new insights into citizen science and health.