Herre Uittenhout

Regular visits to hospitals and clinics at a young age made healthcare a common thing for Herre. These experiences triggered an interest in the world of medical research at a later age. In combination with a passion for electronics and technology, and after graduating as a laboratory analyst, the focus shifted to healthcare communication. The subject of his master thesis for the study of Health Sciences at the University of Twente is “the use and effect of social media in health communication and education of common head lice”.

Effective communication is closely related to how it fits to the personal preferences and needs of the receiver. Therefor the Sawtooth Software’s ACBC module is used to analyze the needs and preferences of parents in health communication about head lice. Three municipal health services in the Netherlands participate in this project to be able to elucidate if there is a need for providing health information trough social media (specifically; Facebook and Twitter) on a national level. With this information scientific evidence is obtained to support or reject a shift from current used forms of media (e.g. static websites, folders, email or meetings) to social media for specific types of health communication.

In his spare time Herre is an active member of the student triathlon club (D.S.T.V. Aloha), likes to go to pub quizzes and enjoys the many different aspects of photography.