Jaap Dronkers
Jaap Dronkers is a physiotherapist and has a degree in Science of Human Movement. He researches the physical fitness and self-sufficiency of patients who report to the hospital for admission.
A hospital admission has a major impact on patients’ physical fitness. In turn, the patient’s physical fitness also influences the progress and duration of his or her hospital stay. In 2013, Jaap was conferred a PhD for his thesis dealing with this subject, entitled ‘Preoperative physical fitness in older patients’.
He performed this research at the Gelderse Vallei Hospital and in the Research group Innovation of Movement Care. In addition to his research activities, Jaap also serves as head of Generic Care within HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht’s Physiotherapy master’s degree programme. The results of his study have already found their way into the curriculum of this degree programme via optional courses and graduation research.
Fields of expertise
- Integration of research and practice
Publications
- Personal meaning in relation to daily functioning of a patient in physical therapy practice: narratives of a patient, a family member, and physical therapist
- The Influence of Muscle Weakness on the Association Between Obesity and Inpatient Recovery From Total Hip Arthroplasty
- Optimizing perioperative physical therapy care in major elective surgery to improve surgical outcome in high-risk patients: the Better in, Better out™ concept.