Bioethics & Health Humanities
Bioethics & Health Humanities is an inter- and transdisciplinary department and is part of the Department of Global Public Health and Bioethics of the Julius Center. We work towards a health care practice grounded in ethical values and principles and sustained by creative and critical appraisal and collaboration. We collaborate across health domains to foster thoughtful dialogue, cultivate original perspectives, and challenge assumptions. Through research, education, and expert support, we aim to shape health care that adds value for all.
Research uitklapper, klik om te openen
Our research mainly focuses on the ethical aspects of research, global health, end-of-life issues, elderly care, expensive medicines, regenerative medicine, new technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), digital health, patient participation, narrative medicine, and medical history. We conduct both analytical and empirical (qualitative) research. You can find our research group page here.
Education uitklapper, klik om te openen
Our department is involved in several educational programs within the UMC Utrecht, such as medicine, clinical health sciences, and biomedical sciences. In our teaching, we aim to encourage students to develop their observational skills, critical analysis, and self-reflection with the aim to contribute to the academic and social development of the future physician, healthcare professional, and researcher. Central to this are topics such as research ethics, clinical ethics, ethics of technology, patient participation, health law, medical history, open science, narrative medicine, and philosophy of science.
Committees and services uitklapper, klik om te openen
We participate in many committees both inside and outside the UMC Utrecht. For example, we join the Hospital Ethics Committee (Commissie Medische Ethiek), the Fertility Deliberation group (Beraadsgroep Voortplantingsgeneeskunde), the Biobank Research Ethics Committee (TCBio), and the Research Ethics Committee (METC) NedMec+. We assist with Moral Deliberation in various departments at the UMC Utrecht and can be approached for ethical-legal consultation. At the (inter)national level we join various committees as ethicists and lawyers, among others as members of the Health Council of the Netherlands (Gezondheidsraad) or for the World Health Organization (WHO). We are also an official WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics. For more information on our services, please visit this page.