Ellen M A Smets
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 162020 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Ellen M A Smets |
| NOMBRES | Ellen M A |
| APELLIDO | Smets |
| FIRMA | SMETS E M A |
| AFILIACIONES | Amsterdam University Medical Centers |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8145-8595 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 28 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 61 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 28 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2001 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 4 |
Involving Societal Stakeholders in Dementia Risk Reduction
OBJECTIVES: Optimal dementia risk reduction requires a combination of individual- and population-level approaches. Societal stakeholders play a crucial role by raising awareness, supporting individual lifestyle change, and/or influencing certain risk factors through policy changes. This study aimed to identify relevant societal stakeholders for promoting dementia risk reduction, and explore perspectives regarding their role. METHODS: We used a qu…
Uncovering clinicians' inquiry-based and impression-based efforts to tailor information in oncology consultations
Tailoring of health-related information is recommended to address cancer patients’ diverse information needs and abilities to understand and process information. While tailored information can improve patients’ satisfaction, recall of information and emotional wellbeing, little is known about how oncology clinicians tailor information during consultations. This study examined Dutch oncology clinicians’ perceptions and experiences with tailoring o…
Health apps
Health apps usage appears to be positively associated with the perceived importance of health data and confidence in usefulness of health apps. Non-users are more likely to adopt health apps if they provide insights into their health, enable earlier access to personal health data, and help in symptom tracking. HCPs should actively engage individuals who do not use health apps in conversations that emphasize the relevance of such tools to patient …
Intention to use and perceived satisfaction with a digital tool for dementia prevention among the Dutch general public
The increasing prevalence of dementia coincides with a shrinking healthcare workforce, highlighting the importance of dementia prevention. Digital health tools are smart devices and connected equipment that improve health and can be used by individuals themselves, such as apps, platforms, or wearables. These tools can be used to empower people in the general population to take care of their brain health and dementia prevention. We aimed to explor…
Profiling Cancer Patients Based on Their Motives for Seeking Informational and Emotional Support Online
15, 8.0%). Patients across these profiles differed in their eHealth literacy, with the contact exchangers being more eHealth literate than the overall seekers and occasional information seekers. The results can be used to create awareness among health care providers, web designers, and patient organizations on different types of cancer patients with different motives for seeking informational and/or emotional support online, and help them to tail…
Cancer patients’ trust as a motivator to seek a second opinion and its effects on trust
OBJECTIVE: Cancer patients may seek a second opinion (SO) driven by reduced trust in their own providers. Their trust may be diminished or reinforced through the SO. This study aimed to assess (1) what proportion of patients seek SOs motivated by lacking trust and how trust changes over time; (2) whether patients' trust differs by the outcome of the SO (i.e. similar/different opinion); and (3) how communication during the SO affects trust. DESIGN…
The Video Engagement Scale (VES)
The Video Engagement Scale (VES) is a quality indicator to assess engagement in experimental video-vignette studies, but its measurement properties warrant improvement. Data from previous studies were combined (N = 2676) and split into three subsamples for a stepped analytical approach. We tested construct validity, criterion validity, reliability, and measurement invariance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) reiterated poor fit of the previousl…
A scoping review of practice recommendations for clinicians’ communication of uncertainty
Communication about Prognosis during Patient-Initiated Second Opinion Consultations in Advanced Cancer Care
Prognostic communication is essential for patients with advanced cancer to enable informed medical decision-making and end-of-life planning. Discussing prognosis is challenging, and might be especially complex for oncologists conducting a second opinion (SO). Survival data are often lacking, and consulting oncologists need to consider previously conveyed information and patients' relationship with the referring oncologist. We qualitatively invest…
Women’s Participation in Decision-Making in Maternity Care
Shared decision-making requires adequate functional health literacy (HL) skills from clients to understand information, as well as interactive and critical HL skills to obtain, appraise and apply information about available options. This study aimed to explore women's HL skills and needs for support regarding shared decision-making in maternity care. In-depth interviews were held among women in Dutch maternity care who scored low ( n = 10) and hi…
The Measurement of Eye Contact in Human Interactions
Eye contact is a fundamental aspect of nonverbal communication and therefore important for understanding human interaction. Eye contact has been the subject of research in many disciplines, including communication sciences, social psychology, and psychiatry, and a variety of techniques have been used to measure it. The choice of measurement method has consequences for research outcomes and their interpretation. To ensure that research findings al…
Communicating uncertainties when disclosing diagnostic test results for (Alzheimer's) dementia in the memory clinic
BACKGROUND: The development of novel diagnostics enables increasingly earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Timely diagnosis may benefit patients by reducing their uncertainty regarding the cause of symptoms, yet does not always provide patients with the desired certainty. OBJECTIVE: To examine, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, uncertainty communicated by memory clinic clinicians in post-diagnostic testing consultations w…
Genetic counseling of patients with ovarian carcinoma
The new Dutch guidelines on hereditary and familial ovarian carcinoma recommend genetic testing of all patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). With this study, we aimed to obtain insight into (1) the acceptance and timing of the offer of genetic counseling in women with EOC, (2) reasons for accepting or declining genetic counseling, and (3) psychological differences between women who did and did not have genetic counseling. A multicenter q…
The Role of Health Literacy in Explaining the Relation between Educational Level and Decision Making about Colorectal Cancer Screening
Little is known about why educational inequalities exist in informed decision making in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Insight into the role and impact of health literacy is essential for intervention development. This study investigates associations between health literacy and informed decision making in CRC screening and explores to what extent health literacy mediates the association between education and informed decision making in CRC sc…
Health literacy skills for informed decision making in colorectal cancer screening
BACKGROUND: The process of informed decision making (IDM) requires an adequate level of health literacy. To ensure that all individuals have equal opportunity to make an informed decision in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, it is essential to gain more insight into which health literacy skills are needed for IDM. Our aims were (i) to explore how individuals make a decision about CRC screening and (ii) to explore which skills are needed for IDM …
Uncertainty related to multigene panel testing for cancer
Multigene panel testing is mainly used to improve identification of genetic causes in families with characteristics fitting multiple possible cancer syndromes. This technique may yield uncertainty, for example when variants of unknown significance are identified. This study explores counsellors' and counselees' experiences with uncertainty, and how they discuss uncertainties and decide about multigene panel testing. Six focus groups were conducte…
Information exchange between patients with Lynch syndrome and their genetic and non-genetic health professionals
Individuals at high risk for Lynch syndrome (LS) should be offered genetic counselling, since preventive options are available. However, uptake of genetic services and follow-up care are currently suboptimal, possibly caused by inadequate exchange of information. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to gain insight in the process of information exchange between patients diagnosed with LS and their non-genetic (i.e., general practitioner, gastro…
The evolution of uncertainty in second opinions about prostate cancer treatment
BACKGROUND: People who have cancer increasingly seek second opinions. Yet, we know little about what motivates patients to seek them and how beneficial they are. Uncertainty-experienced by patients or communicated by physician and patient-may be crucial throughout the second opinion process. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate (1) how uncertainty influences men with prostate cancer to seek second opinions and (2) how second opinions may a…
Trust and Perceptions of Physicians’ Nonverbal Behavior Among Women with Immigrant Backgrounds
Previous findings suggest immigrant patients have lower trust in their physicians, and perceive nonverbal communication differently compared to non-immigrant patients. We tested discrepancies in trust and the impact of non-verbal behavior between immigrants and non-immigrants in The Netherlands. Nonverbal communication of an oncologist was systematically varied in an experimental video vignettes design. Breast cancer patients (n = 34) and healthy…
Tolerance of uncertainty
Uncertainty tolerance is an important and complex phenomenon requiring more precise and consistent definition. An integrative definition and conceptual model, intended as a tentative and flexible point of departure for future research, adds needed breadth, specificity, and precision to efforts to conceptualize and measure UT
Tailoring the Mode of Information Presentation
Previous studies have mainly focused on tailoring message content to match individual characteristics and preferences. This study investigates the effect of a website tailored to individual preferences for the mode of information presentation, compared to 4 nontailored websites on younger and older adults' attention and recall of information, employing a 5 (condition: tailored vs. text, text with illustrations, audiovisual, combination)×2 (age: y…
The interweaving of pharmaceutical and medical expectations as dynamics of micro-pharmaceuticalisation
Meta-analysis shows clinically relevant and long-lasting deterioration in health-related quality of life after esophageal cancer surgery
Assessing measurement invariance of a health-related quality-of-life questionnaire in radiotherapy patients
In the present study, accounting for measurement bias lead to a substantial improvement in the overall fit of the model. By ignoring the bias, we would have concluded that the model fit was unsatisfactory. The findings underline the importance of investigating measurement invariance in scales designed for heterogeneous samples
Medical Specialists’ Patient-Centered Communication and Patient-Reported Outcomes
BACKGROUND: Physicians' patient-centered communication in the medical consultation is generally expected to improve patient outcomes. However, empirical evidence is contradictory so far, and most studies were done in primary care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the association of specialists' patient-centered communication with patient satisfaction, adherence, and health status. METHODS: Residents and specialists in internal medicine (n = 30) …
Tolerance of uncertainty
Uncertainty tolerance is an important and complex phenomenon requiring more precise and consistent definition. An integrative definition and conceptual model, intended as a tentative and flexible point of departure for future research, adds needed breadth, specificity, and precision to efforts to conceptualize and measure UT
Determinants of physicians' patient-centred behaviour in the medical specialist encounter
The interweaving of pharmaceutical and medical expectations as dynamics of micro-pharmaceuticalisation
Coding patient-centred behaviour in the medical encounter
Improving the Assessment of (In)patients??? Satisfaction With Hospital Care
BACKGROUND: A self-report questionnaire is the most widely used method to assess (in)patients' satisfaction with (hospital) care. However, problems like nonresponse, missing values, and skewed score distributions may threaten the representativeness, validity, and reliability of results. We investigated which of alternative item-response formats maximizes desired outcomes. DESIGN: Five formats were compared on the basis of sample characteristics, …
Coding patient-centred behaviour in the medical encounter
Determinants of physicians' patient-centred behaviour in the medical specialist encounter
Medical Specialists’ Patient-Centered Communication and Patient-Reported Outcomes
BACKGROUND: Physicians' patient-centered communication in the medical consultation is generally expected to improve patient outcomes. However, empirical evidence is contradictory so far, and most studies were done in primary care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the association of specialists' patient-centered communication with patient satisfaction, adherence, and health status. METHODS: Residents and specialists in internal medicine (n = 30) …
Assessing measurement invariance of a health-related quality-of-life questionnaire in radiotherapy patients
In the present study, accounting for measurement bias lead to a substantial improvement in the overall fit of the model. By ignoring the bias, we would have concluded that the model fit was unsatisfactory. The findings underline the importance of investigating measurement invariance in scales designed for heterogeneous samples
Meta-analysis shows clinically relevant and long-lasting deterioration in health-related quality of life after esophageal cancer surgery
The interweaving of pharmaceutical and medical expectations as dynamics of micro-pharmaceuticalisation
The evolution of uncertainty in second opinions about prostate cancer treatment
BACKGROUND: People who have cancer increasingly seek second opinions. Yet, we know little about what motivates patients to seek them and how beneficial they are. Uncertainty-experienced by patients or communicated by physician and patient-may be crucial throughout the second opinion process. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate (1) how uncertainty influences men with prostate cancer to seek second opinions and (2) how second opinions may a…
Trust and Perceptions of Physicians’ Nonverbal Behavior Among Women with Immigrant Backgrounds
Previous findings suggest immigrant patients have lower trust in their physicians, and perceive nonverbal communication differently compared to non-immigrant patients. We tested discrepancies in trust and the impact of non-verbal behavior between immigrants and non-immigrants in The Netherlands. Nonverbal communication of an oncologist was systematically varied in an experimental video vignettes design. Breast cancer patients (n = 34) and healthy…
Tolerance of uncertainty
Uncertainty tolerance is an important and complex phenomenon requiring more precise and consistent definition. An integrative definition and conceptual model, intended as a tentative and flexible point of departure for future research, adds needed breadth, specificity, and precision to efforts to conceptualize and measure UT
Tailoring the Mode of Information Presentation
Previous studies have mainly focused on tailoring message content to match individual characteristics and preferences. This study investigates the effect of a website tailored to individual preferences for the mode of information presentation, compared to 4 nontailored websites on younger and older adults' attention and recall of information, employing a 5 (condition: tailored vs. text, text with illustrations, audiovisual, combination)×2 (age: y…
Health literacy skills for informed decision making in colorectal cancer screening
BACKGROUND: The process of informed decision making (IDM) requires an adequate level of health literacy. To ensure that all individuals have equal opportunity to make an informed decision in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, it is essential to gain more insight into which health literacy skills are needed for IDM. Our aims were (i) to explore how individuals make a decision about CRC screening and (ii) to explore which skills are needed for IDM …
Uncertainty related to multigene panel testing for cancer
Multigene panel testing is mainly used to improve identification of genetic causes in families with characteristics fitting multiple possible cancer syndromes. This technique may yield uncertainty, for example when variants of unknown significance are identified. This study explores counsellors' and counselees' experiences with uncertainty, and how they discuss uncertainties and decide about multigene panel testing. Six focus groups were conducte…
Information exchange between patients with Lynch syndrome and their genetic and non-genetic health professionals
Individuals at high risk for Lynch syndrome (LS) should be offered genetic counselling, since preventive options are available. However, uptake of genetic services and follow-up care are currently suboptimal, possibly caused by inadequate exchange of information. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to gain insight in the process of information exchange between patients diagnosed with LS and their non-genetic (i.e., general practitioner, gastro…
Genetic counseling of patients with ovarian carcinoma
The new Dutch guidelines on hereditary and familial ovarian carcinoma recommend genetic testing of all patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). With this study, we aimed to obtain insight into (1) the acceptance and timing of the offer of genetic counseling in women with EOC, (2) reasons for accepting or declining genetic counseling, and (3) psychological differences between women who did and did not have genetic counseling. A multicenter q…
The Role of Health Literacy in Explaining the Relation between Educational Level and Decision Making about Colorectal Cancer Screening
Little is known about why educational inequalities exist in informed decision making in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Insight into the role and impact of health literacy is essential for intervention development. This study investigates associations between health literacy and informed decision making in CRC screening and explores to what extent health literacy mediates the association between education and informed decision making in CRC sc…
The Measurement of Eye Contact in Human Interactions
Eye contact is a fundamental aspect of nonverbal communication and therefore important for understanding human interaction. Eye contact has been the subject of research in many disciplines, including communication sciences, social psychology, and psychiatry, and a variety of techniques have been used to measure it. The choice of measurement method has consequences for research outcomes and their interpretation. To ensure that research findings al…
Communicating uncertainties when disclosing diagnostic test results for (Alzheimer's) dementia in the memory clinic
BACKGROUND: The development of novel diagnostics enables increasingly earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Timely diagnosis may benefit patients by reducing their uncertainty regarding the cause of symptoms, yet does not always provide patients with the desired certainty. OBJECTIVE: To examine, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, uncertainty communicated by memory clinic clinicians in post-diagnostic testing consultations w…
A scoping review of practice recommendations for clinicians’ communication of uncertainty
Communication about Prognosis during Patient-Initiated Second Opinion Consultations in Advanced Cancer Care
Prognostic communication is essential for patients with advanced cancer to enable informed medical decision-making and end-of-life planning. Discussing prognosis is challenging, and might be especially complex for oncologists conducting a second opinion (SO). Survival data are often lacking, and consulting oncologists need to consider previously conveyed information and patients' relationship with the referring oncologist. We qualitatively invest…
Women’s Participation in Decision-Making in Maternity Care
Shared decision-making requires adequate functional health literacy (HL) skills from clients to understand information, as well as interactive and critical HL skills to obtain, appraise and apply information about available options. This study aimed to explore women's HL skills and needs for support regarding shared decision-making in maternity care. In-depth interviews were held among women in Dutch maternity care who scored low ( n = 10) and hi…
The Video Engagement Scale (VES)
The Video Engagement Scale (VES) is a quality indicator to assess engagement in experimental video-vignette studies, but its measurement properties warrant improvement. Data from previous studies were combined (N = 2676) and split into three subsamples for a stepped analytical approach. We tested construct validity, criterion validity, reliability, and measurement invariance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) reiterated poor fit of the previousl…
Profiling Cancer Patients Based on Their Motives for Seeking Informational and Emotional Support Online
15, 8.0%). Patients across these profiles differed in their eHealth literacy, with the contact exchangers being more eHealth literate than the overall seekers and occasional information seekers. The results can be used to create awareness among health care providers, web designers, and patient organizations on different types of cancer patients with different motives for seeking informational and/or emotional support online, and help them to tail…
Cancer patients’ trust as a motivator to seek a second opinion and its effects on trust
OBJECTIVE: Cancer patients may seek a second opinion (SO) driven by reduced trust in their own providers. Their trust may be diminished or reinforced through the SO. This study aimed to assess (1) what proportion of patients seek SOs motivated by lacking trust and how trust changes over time; (2) whether patients' trust differs by the outcome of the SO (i.e. similar/different opinion); and (3) how communication during the SO affects trust. DESIGN…
Uncovering clinicians' inquiry-based and impression-based efforts to tailor information in oncology consultations
Tailoring of health-related information is recommended to address cancer patients’ diverse information needs and abilities to understand and process information. While tailored information can improve patients’ satisfaction, recall of information and emotional wellbeing, little is known about how oncology clinicians tailor information during consultations. This study examined Dutch oncology clinicians’ perceptions and experiences with tailoring o…
Medicine (20 obras) · Psychology (19 obras) · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare (13 obras) · Family medicine (12 obras) · Health care (10 obras) · MEDLINE (8 obras) · Social Psychology (8 obras) · Clinical Psychology (7 obras) · Computer Science (7 obras) · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility (7 obras)