Rate My Professor Mirjam Fransen

Mirjam Fransen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public and Occupational Health at Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam. She holds the position of Senior Researcher at the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment since May 2019. Her research program centers on enhancing the health literacy responsiveness of public health services to mitigate socioeconomic health inequalities. About 25% of Dutch citizens face challenges in obtaining, understanding, appraising, and applying health information for decisions in cancer screening, vaccination, and lifestyle behaviors. Fransen develops and implements innovative digital interventions through co-creation with stakeholders, including individuals with varying health literacy levels and professionals. Examples include digital decision aids for colorectal cancer screening, mobile health applications supporting lifestyle changes for vulnerable young mothers, and training programs for healthcare professionals in breast cancer genetic counseling. She explores underlying factors like health literacy in preventable health disparities and employs combined methods to engage hard-to-reach populations in public health services and research.

Fransen obtained her PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2010 with a thesis titled Ethnic Differences in Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome. Over the past 12 years, she has pioneered the validation of health literacy measures in the Netherlands, establishing conceptual frameworks for health literacy and decision-making, and substantially advancing the national knowledge base. Her scholarly output includes 83 publications with over 1,700 citations on ResearchGate. Notable works are International application of health literacy measures: A scoping review (Patient Education and Counseling, 2014, cited by 93), A short assessment of health literacy (SAHL) in the Netherlands (2014, cited by 88), Applicability of Internationally Available Health Literacy Measures in the Netherlands (2011), Co-creation of a health literate-sensitive training and conversation aid to support shared decision-making in maternity care (2024), and Decision-making in breast cancer screening: A qualitative interview study (2024). She contributes to editorial roles, including the board of Health Literacy Research and Practice, and participates in projects such as UNITY and BE-PREPARED, focusing on public health risk communication and pandemic preparedness.