Echteld.net
Research in health and quality of life
Michael Echteld
Michael Echteld is psychologist and senior researcher in the department of Intellectual Disability Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Click here for an overview of his projects.
Other professional experience:
- 2005-2010: Senior researcher at the EMGO+ Institute, VU
university medical centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Projects:
- Evaluation, content and translation of quality of life measures for use in palliative care (collaborating with palliative expertise centres of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, University Medical Centre St. Radboud Nijmegen, Erasmus University Medical Centre)
- Recognition of the palliative phase and provided care: a mixed-method study (collaborating with NIVEL)
- Spiritual end-of-life care in nursing homes (collaborating with the VUmc department of Nursing Home Medicine)
- SentiMELC – Monitoring End-of-Life Care by means of a Sentinel Network of GP’s (collaborating with NIVEL and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
- Evaluating an individualised quality of life intervention for hospitalised cancer patients (collaborating with the VUmc department of Medical Oncology)
- Studying quality indicators of end-of-life care by reviewing hospitalised cancer patients’ records
- Validation of the Utrecht Symptom Diary (collaborating with University Medical Centre Utrecht, Medical Oncology Department)
- A systematic review on GP’s communication at the end of life (collaborating with the VUmc department of General Practise)
- 2003-2005: Senior researcher at the departments of Medical Oncology and Medical Psychology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Projects: cancer pain medication adherence; multidimensional fatigue in advanced cancer; individual quality of life in advanced cancer; review on the WHO analgesic ladder for cancer pain.
- 2000-2003: Postdoctoral researcher at the EMGO+ Institute, VU university medical centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Project title: ‘Evaluation of units for short-term terminal care in nursing homes‘
- 1999-2000: Assistant professor at the Open University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Teaching research methodology and psychology, supervising doctoral theses in health psychology, revising teaching programmes.
- 1995-1999: PhD researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. Dissertation: ‘Modelling Predictors of Quality of Life after Coronary Angioplasty’; PhD 16-1-2003.
- 1993-1995: Junior researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology (supervision, instrument validation, drafting and implementing revalidation programmes).
- 1991-1993: PhD researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Personality Psychology
Awards and grants
Click here for an overview of awards and grants.
Research interests
Michael is interested in all the projects he is involved in (which is not always obvious!), and also in the following topics:
(Individual) quality of life
The most important outcome for palliative care, and basically the stuff everyone wants. I'm interested in the development of the concept and instruments measuring QOL and its components. Read on...
The most important outcome for palliative care, and basically the stuff everyone wants. I'm interested in the development of the concept and instruments measuring QOL and its components. Read on...
Response shift and coping
Response shift is the patients' changes in internal standards, values, or conceptualization of their quality of life, and is a phenomenon explaining why patients' QOL may remain stable or even improve in light of deteriorating physical condition. Response shift is highly interesting for palliative care, because it may be employed in helping patients adapt to their situation better. The concept was developed by Miriam Sprangers and Carolyn Schwarts. Click here for a reference to a publication. Looking at coping in general may be a related interesting way of investigating adaptation.
Instrument development
Not the sexiest topic in the world but nevertheless very important: development of practical instruments for reliable and valid measurement of relevant outcomes. An important source of information for the description and definition of psychometric characteristics is COSMIN.
Development of palliative care in patients with intellectual disabilities
Little is known about palliative care needs in patients with intellectual disabilities and the barriers to provision of high-quality palliative care.
Publications
Click here for a list of selected publications.
Significant others
None of Michael's work is possible without his partner Monica and kids Declan and Caitlin.