Nienke Bleijenberg

Lector HU & Associate Professor Nursing Science, UMC Utrecht

Nienke Bleijenberg is a prominent figure in the field of nursing and eldercare, holding multiple roles in the Netherlands. Here are the key points about her:

Positions

She is an Associate Professor of Nursing Science at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht).2 4 5
She also holds the position of Professor (Lector) in the Research group Proactive care for older people living at home at the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.1 2 6

Education and Background

Nienke Bleijenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in Nursing (HBO-V) in Utrecht in 2007, combined with a pre-master’s programme in Nursing Science. She received her master’s degree in Nursing Science from Utrecht University in 2009.1
She was conferred a PhD by Utrecht University in 2013 for her study on ‘Proactive primary care for frail older people’. During her PhD, she also completed a post-graduate master’s degree programme in Clinical Epidemiology at Utrecht University.1 2

Clinical and Research Experience

She has extensive experience as a district nurse in Utrecht, particularly working with geriatric patients living at home with complex care needs. This experience highlighted the need for scientific knowledge to improve care for older people.2
Her research focuses on early detection of functional decline and prevention of acute events such as emergency department visits. She has developed and evaluated complex interventions to improve the independence of older adults living at home.2
Notably, she developed a multicomponent proactive primary care program to enhance daily functioning of multimorbid, frail older people, which was tested in a large randomized controlled trial involving over 3000 patients and 350 caregivers.2 3

Teaching and Collaborations

She has been involved as a teacher and coordinator at the master's program in Clinical Health Sciences, Nursing Science at Utrecht University since 2012. Between 2014 and 2018, she was a yearly visiting scholar at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Division of Geriatrics.2

Memberships and Publications

Nienke Bleijenberg is a member of the National Association of Nurses and a fellow of the European Association of Nursing Scientists (EANS).2
She has published numerous articles in journals such as the International Journal of Nursing Studies, Journal of Advanced Nursing, and BMJ Open, among others.2

Current Roles

She is currently the chair of the research group Care for Older people at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and works on various research projects in epidemiology and other fields at the Julius Centre, UMC Utrecht.1 2 6

Her LinkedIn profile can be found under the username nienke-bleijenberg-26143615.6