Olivier Degomme - Master Global Health

Olivier Degomme is the Scientific Director of the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) and Professor at UGent. He coordinates the research activities of a team of 20 researchers divided into three sub-teams studying sexually transmitted infections; maternal and child health; and sexual and reproductive health in vulnerable populations. He is also providing day-to-day assistance and supervision to several PhD candidates from various countries, including Belgium, Kenya and Mozambique.

Peter Decat is a family doctor with 20 years of experience as a physician in Bolivia and Belgium. He worked at the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) at UGent from 2006 to 2014, where he coordinated a multi-centre intervention research project on community-embedded reproductive health care for adolescents in Latin America, on which he defended his PhD in September 2015. His specific field of interest is the integration of reproductive health services into primary health care. A people-centred approach, combining person-centredness and community participation, is key in this issue. He currently works at the UGent Department of Public Health and Primary Care and as a family doctor.

Stefan Heytens obtained his PhD from the University of Ghent in 2017 on the topic of “Diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in non-pregnant adult women in primary care”. He is working as a general practitioner and as a part-time postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at UGent. His research focuses on urinary tract infections and medical treatment of low back pain.

Professor dr. Hilde Bastiaens is a researcher and teacher in the department of Primary and Interdisciplinary care and president of the University Centre of Qualitative Health Research Antwerp. She has a number of areas of research interest that, among others, include the following: (prevention of) chronic conditions, empowerment and self-management, natural environment and (mental) health. On the methodological level, her interest and expertise lies mainly in qualitative and implementation research. In the past, she implemented a chronic care program in the Belgian context and participated in a European project on involving older patients in their care. Currently, she is the Project Coordinator for the SPICES project and coordinates a project within a VLIR-UOS program (Flemish University Council), on the improvement of chronic care in a rural area (Limpopo) in South Africa. She supervised many Master theses and is currently promotor of 5 international PhD theses. Besides being an academic, she is works as a general practitioner and as a clinician providing preventive services for young children.