In my view, policy-making without sufficient knowledge of the facts is unacceptable. That’s why I want to ensure that policy makers have all the necessary facts. I see this as the essence of my work: making the connection between policy and science in the field of public health.

From 1986 to 1998, Hans van Oers worked as an epidemiological researcher at the municipal health service in Rotterdam. Since 1998 he has worked at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), first as a project leader in Public Health Status and Forecasts Report (VTV), and from 2002 as head of the Centre for Public Health Forecasting (cVTV). This centre is responsible for the publication of the VTV report every four years, and related websites such as Compass, Atlas and Cost of Illness, all important building blocks for the development of national health policy.  In 2012 he was appointed Chief Science Officer of System Assessments for Policy Support.

Since 2004, Hans van Oers is also Professor of Public Health at Tilburg University’s Tranzo Scientific Center for Care and Welfare. In this capacity, he is involved in the Academic Collaborative Centre for Public Health in Brabant, a partnership between RIVM, Tilburg University and three regional health services in the Province of Brabant.

In 2009 and 2010, he was seconded to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, where he contributed to the development of the Global Health Observatory.

Connecting science, policy and practice is the central theme in his work.

Areas of expertise

• Public health epidemiology
• Public health policy
• Public health monitoring

Contact

E-mail: info@rivm.nl