Josina Maria "Jozien" Bensing (born 12 March 1950) is a Dutch clinical psychologist. Bensing was director of the (NIVEL) between 1985 and 2008. Since 1993 she has been a professor of clinical and healthcare psychology at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. Bensing was a winner of the 2006
Spinoza Prize
The Spinoza Prize ( nl, Spinozapremie) is an annual award of 2.5 million euro, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher ...
.
Career
Bensing was born on 12 March 1950 in
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
.
She studied clinical psychology at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
. Bensing obtained a PhD at the
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...
in 1991, her thesis was titled: "Doctor-patient communication and the quality of care. An observation study into affective and instrumental behavior in general practice".
[
In 1974 Bensing started as a researcher at the Dutch Institute for General Practice (Dutch: Nederlands Huisartsen Instituut). Two years later she became leader of the project "Psycho social care in general practice". She kept this position for two a further two years and in 1979 became the head of the research department.] In 1984 she became acting director. The next year the Dutch Institute for General Practice became the (NIVEL) and Bensing became the director. She served in this position until 2008 and then continued as an honorary research fellow.[ Apart from her work at NIVEL Bensing has been a professor of clinical psychology and healthcare psychology at Utrecht University since 1993.][ Between 1996 and 1998 she served as dean of the faculty.][
Bensing's research has focused on the role of communication in doctor-patient relations. Her research also has links to the ]placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
effect. She has done research on large quantities of video recorded conversations between doctors and patients and has built a database of over 16,000 entries.[
]
Awards and honours
Bensing was awarded the George Engel
George Engel (April 15, 1836November 11, 1887) was a labor union activist executed after the Haymarket riot, along with Albert Parsons, August Spies, and Adolph Fischer.
Early life
George Engel was born to an impoverished family with three ot ...
Award by the American Academy on Physician and Patients in 2003, and was the first non-American to obtain it.[
In 2006 she was one of four winners of the Dutch ]Spinoza Prize
The Spinoza Prize ( nl, Spinozapremie) is an annual award of 2.5 million euro, to be spent on new research given by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The award is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. It is named after the philosopher ...
and received a 1.5 million euro grant. The awarding commission cited her "multidisciplinary research into the communication between doctors and patients, and her internationally used research method for quantifying non-verbal communication".[
Bensing was elected a member of the ]Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
in 2007.
In 2004 Bensing was named an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands.
The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
. In 2015 she was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion NĂ©erlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
.
References
External links
Profile on Utrecht University website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensing, Jozien
1950 births
Living people
Clinical psychologists
Dutch psychologists
Dutch women psychologists
Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni
Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau
People from Tilburg
Spinoza Prize winners
Utrecht University alumni
Academic staff of Utrecht University