Occupational Therapy Research Group at Universiteit Gent is dedicated to advancing the understanding and application of occupation and participation through a comprehensive research program spanning three interconnected lines. Our fundamental research explores the core concepts of meaningful activities, occupation, and participation, examining their impact on identity, well-being, and quality of life. In our translational research, we focus on bringing these foundational insights into practice by developing models for personalized medicine, goal-oriented care, self-management, role-management, and value-based healthcare. Finally, our applied research tests and evaluates these approaches in real-world settings through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and realist evaluation studies, with projects addressing goal-oriented care in primary care, life participation in chronic kidney disease, personalized rehabilitation in chronic low back pain, role-management in major depression, and return-to-work strategies using the capability approach. Together, these research lines form a dynamic and evidence-based framework to strengthen occupational therapy practice and policy. https://www.ugent.be/ge/reva/en/research/occupational_therapy_research_unit_ghent

Prof. Dr. Dominique Van de Velde

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, Department of rehabilitation sciences. Occupational therapy research group. Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent. Member High Health Council Belgium, Member of the royal Academy of Medicine Belgium.

Bio: Prof Dr Dominique Van de Velde is occcupational therapist. He graduated as master in occupational therapy at Karolinska institutet Stockholm and received his PhD in Health Sciences at Ghent University. His research topic is ‘participation’ as has been defined by the WHO and in specific how to measure it.

Dr. Stijn De Baets

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, Research group Occupational therapy, Ghent, Belgium.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Frailty in ageing & resilience research group, Brussels, Belgium.

Bio: Stijn De Baets is a Belgian occupational therapist, researcher, and consultant. He works as a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In 2021, he earned his PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from Ghent University with award-winning research on participation and work among people with chronic health conditions—work that earned him the EU Academy of Rehabilitation prize.
His expertise bridges qualitative and quantitative methods, focusing on functional capacity evaluation, return to work, self-management, and societal participation. Stijn has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including systematic reviews and qualitative studies on healthcare experiences. Beyond academia, he is founder of @WORK (https://www.we-atwork.be), an independent consultancy providing functional capacity assessments, personal injury evaluations, and advice on participation and rehabilitation. He is president of the Flemish Occupational Therapy Federation and co-president of the Belgian Occupational Therapy Federation. He also serves as a board member of Evidence Based Practice Net. He remains dedicated to enhancing quality of life and labor participation for people with chronic and complex health needs through evidence-based interventions and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Dr. Ellen Cruyt

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, Department of rehabilitation sciences. Occupational therapy research group. Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent. (Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen, Occupational Therapy, Sint-Martens-Latemlaan 1B, 8500 Kortrijk)

Bio: Dr. Ellen Cruyt is an occupational therapist with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and a PhD in Health Sciences. Her research expertise centers on the meaning of daily activities, with a particular focus on both the subjective and objective dimensions of occupational engagement in individuals living with chronic conditions—a topic she explored in depth during her doctoral trajectory. Ellen is also affiliated with Howest University of Applied Sciences, where she serves as a research coordinator and lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy. In both her teaching and research, she integrates the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a central framework to guide assessment, intervention, and understanding of participation in context.

A strong Primary Care System is the cornerstone of any accessible and sustainable healthcare system. Family medicine, as a unique discipline with specific knowledge and competences, is an essential part of this. Through our role as a Centre for Family Medicine, we want to actively contribute-in research, education and societal outreach- to an accessible and sustainable healthcare system. https://www.ugent.be/ge/phpc/en/research/units/family-medicine-integrated-care.htm

The department is also a WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, providing technical advice to WHO, collecting and collating information and supporting WHO in the implementation of WHO programmes and activities at country level.

Prof. Dr. Pascal Coorevits

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Unit of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Ghent, Belgium.

Bio: Pascal Coorevits is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Ghent University and head of the Unit of Medical Informatics and Statistics at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care. His primary research interests lie in the domain of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and are oriented towards various aspects of quality labelling and certification of EHRs, EHR data and mHealth apps (quality criteria, data quality indicators, quality labelling and certification models, tools/methodologies for EHR evaluation and conformance testing, EHR semantic interoperability aspects, EHR data harmonization, re-use of EHR data for research purposes). Lecturer-in-charge of several courses in biostatistics, methodology, evidence based medicine and medical informatics. Board member of the Belgian not-for-profit organisation RAMIT (Research in Advanced Medical Informatics and Telematics), an R&D spin-off platform of the Ghent University and Executive Board Member of the European Institute for Innovation through Health Data (i~HD). Participation in several EU -, national – and transatlantic eHealth projects (non-exhaustive list: ASSIST, EHRImplement, EHR-Q TN, ARGOS, HITCH, Antilope, EHR4CR, SemanticHealthNet, EURECA, EXPAND, HELICAL, RWD4BE, …). Flemish coordinator of two VLIR-UOS SI projects “A pilot project on digitalizing the hospital patient trajectory and secondary use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in Rwanda” (2020-2022, Rwanda) and “Strengthening training and research capacity in Epidemiology and biostatistics to enhance Public Health research at Mountains of the Moon University (MMU)” (2022-2024, Uganda). Co-promotor of a current Structural Institutional Partnership with Mountains of the Moon University (2024-2028, Uganda). Coordinator of the EDCTP3 project “Scaling up research in SSA countries in infectious diseases: African-European training network in integrated health informatics and data sciences” (acronym: BRIDGE NETWORK, 2024-2029), which is proposing a unique and innovative scalable training program and network that will produce empowered infectious diseases experts in six African countries (Benin, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa) to lead and drive research from and for sub-Sahara Africa, at levels of early-stage career (post-graduate certification and doctoral) and mid-stage career (post-doctoral) in an integrated program of health informatics and data sciences.

Dr. Filip Ameye

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Unit of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Ghent, Belgium.

Bio: Dr Ameye is an expert in medical data management, with a specialization in the classification, reimbursement, and terminology of medical and surgical procedures. Following a career as a thoracic and vascular surgeon, he transitioned into medical informatics. He has contributed to national and international health data initiatives, including the development of mappings between SNOMED CT, ICD-10-PCS, and ICHI, as well as the digital transformation of medical procedure nomenclatures.
He currently works as a consultant, advising on the secondary use of administrative health data and the integration of standardized classifications of medical procedures into digital health systems. He remains active in research and publication within this domain.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/filip-ameye-a5385428

Prof. Dr. Oliver Van Hecke

Associate Professor of Primary Care, Department of Public Health and Primary Care Ghent University, Belgium
Director, WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care.

Bio: Prof. Dr. Oliver Van Hecke is an academic family physician and completed his DPhil (PhD) in Primary Health Care at the University of Oxford. His primary research interests involve infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship in primary care. As Director of the WHO-CC, he continues to work with colleagues in the Global South and in particular Southern Africa around building research capacity in the region.

Dr. Diego Schrans

Department of Public Health and Primary Care Ghent University, Belgium
Member of the WONCA International Classification Committee (WICC)
WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Belgium.

Bio : Dr. Diego Schrans, MD, PhD, is a seasoned general practitioner and senior researcher at Ghent University’s Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care. Since 1997, he has worked in a group training practice in Destelbergen, where he combines clinical work with mentoring and innovation in primary care. Dr. Schrans earned his medical degree and GP specialization at Ghent University, later completing a PhD focused on classification systems in primary care. His academic interests include the integration and application of coding systems such as ICPC-2, ICD, ICF, and SNOMED CT, aiming to improve data quality and decision support in general practice. From 2020 to 2023, he chaired the WONCA International Classification Committee (WICC), a leading forum for the development of international standards in primary care classification. He is also an active board member of the Belgian Medical Informatics Association (MIM). Dr. Schrans holds a certificate in acute medicine and worked as an emergency physician at AZ Zusters van Barmhartigheid in Ronse from 1996 to 2001. Beyond his medical career, he pursues a passion for photography through his project ‘The Narrative of the Lens’. Known for his commitment to high-quality, evidence-based primary care, Dr. Schrans bridges clinical practice, education, research, and international collaboration

Bianca de Sá e Silva, MD, MSc

Department of Public Health and Primary Care Ghent University, Belgium
Coordinator, WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care

Bio: Bianca de Sá e Silva is a family doctor with a Master of Science in Global Health. She has work experience in community-oriented primary care in highly deprived areas and has done research on health systems organization and financing. As Coordinator of the WHO-CC on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, she has been involved in different research and collaboration projects focusing on strengthening health systems through the improvement of primary care.

Prof.em. Jan De Maeseneer, MD, PhD

Prof.em. Jan De Maeseneer, MD, PhD. Head WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and PHC – Ghent University.
Department of Public Health and Primary Care.
Bio : Prof. Jan De Maeseneer, MD, PhD, (Hon) FRCGP, is a distinguished academic and a policy advisor in the field of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care. He currently heads the WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care at Ghent University, where he also served as Head of Department from 1991 to 2017. From 1978 to 2017, he was a practicing family physician at the Community Health Centre Botermarkt in Ghent, combining grassroots experience with an academic vision of equitable and people-centred health systems. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to medical education, health systems strengthening, and primary care development. Prof. De Maeseneer served as Secretary-General of The Network: Towards Unity for Health (2007–2015) ( https://www.thenetworktufh.org ), as Chairman of the European Forum for Primary Care (2006–2017) ( https://www.euprimarycare.org ) and as Chair of the Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health ( https://health.ec.europa.eu/expert-panel-effective-ways-investing-health/overview_en ), advising the European Commission (2013-2022). Since 2020, he sits on the Board of the Flemish Institute for Primary Care (VIVEL) ( https://www.vivel.be/en/ ) and he chairs the Commission on Sustainable Higher Education in Flanders since 2024.
In 2019, he was appointed International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, underscoring his global standing in the field.
Prof. De Maeseneer has dedicated his career to advancing accessible, community-based health care and continues to influence (inter)national health policy through scholarship and leadership in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Joseph Roumier, MSc, MEng

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Unit of Medical Informatics and Statistics
Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Unit of Primary Care and Family Medicine
Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, Department of rehabilitation sciences. Occupational therapy research group

Bio: Joseph Roumier is trained in Computational Linguistics and Knowledge Engineering. He has participated and conducted research on multilingual linguistic and conceptual resources since 2003. His work focuses on health domain and semantic web concepts and tools. He works at Ghent University for the SNOClass project.

Prof. Dr. Robert Vander Stichele

Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Unit of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Ghent, Belgium
Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of fundamental and Applied Medical Sciences, Unit of Clinical Pharmacology, Ghent, Belgium
European Institute for Innovation through Health Data, Belgium
Bio:
Robert Vander Stichele is a practicing family physician in Ghent, Belgium, since 1978. He combines his clinical practice with research projects since 1982 He obtained his PhD (in medical sciences) in 2004, and was appointed as teaching professor in the department of Pharmacology in the University of Ghent. He became a certified clinical pharmacologist in 2009. His interest are on information on and use of medicines. He is member of the Special Interest Group on Drug Utilization in the International Society for Pharmaco-epidemiology (ISPE) . He is a senior-researcher in the research alliance on “End-of-Life Care”, a consortium of the University of Ghent, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. He is member of the Board of the International Society of Phthirapterists (ISOP), and of the European Society for the study of Patient Adherence and Compliance (ESPACOMP). He is founding member of the Board of the Belgian Centre for Evidence-Based -Medicine (CEBAM). He is consultant for the creation of a web portal for evidence based medicines directed to the Belgian health care professionals (EBMPracticeNET). Currently, he works as an expert in European of the Department of Medical Informatics at the University of Ghent on medical terminology and electronic product information for medicines. His publication list comprises more than 200 scientific papers (refereed in Medline).

Victor Maes, MD, MSc

Department of Public Health and Primary Care Ghent University, Belgium
WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Belgium
Bio:
Family physician in training with an interest in global health and primary care systems. During my internship at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Primary Care (as part of the Master in Global Health), I was part of the ICPC-3 team.