Earlier this year, chairman Paul Monteiro contributed to a study by Iris Kalkhoven, a student at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management in Rotterdam. She has now successfully completed her master's thesis Turning Patients Into Professionals: An Explanatory Research About the Effects of Professionalizing Patient Organizations defended.

In her study, Kalkhoven demonstrates the importance of professionalizing patient organizations. Loosely translated, she writes, among other things, that patients have become consumers in our current healthcare system.
They must take responsibility for their own decisions. The government delegates more responsibilities to the people and to society. Healthcare providers focus on the medical aspects of patients and patient organizations can focus on their quality of life. By professionalizing, organizations can better reach their patients and inform them better. They can sponsor studies and advocate for them at a very high level.

Paul Monteiro dares to conclude that Vitiligo.nl is certainly not doing badly, especially when you realize that as an organization we are completely dependent on the efforts of volunteers! After sowing, we are now going to reap: Vitiligo.nl is increasingly involved in research processes and projects.
We are happy to share the results of global guidelines and various (clinical and experimental) studies with you.