Founder and former Nivel director Jozien Bensing passed away

On June 1, 2026, our former director and highly valued colleague Jozien Bensing passed away at the age of 76. For many years, Jozien was the face of Nivel. Together with her husband Jouke van der Zee, who passed away last year, she ensured that Nivel became a leading research institute both nationally and internationally. An institute where research is conducted with a focus on the people at the heart of healthcare: patients and their loved ones, healthcare providers, policymakers, educators, and trainers.

Jozien ensured that Nivel participated in the evaluation cycle of academic institutions, but with its own focus on Nivel’s mission. This helped make the impact of research on healthcare policy and practice measurable. In doing so, Jozien was a powerful advocate for the importance of an independent research institute that is simultaneously embedded in policy and practice.

In addition to her administrative work, Jozien Bensing was a productive researcher. She made a difference in her research by diving into the heart of healthcare and studying interactions between healthcare providers and patients by recording consultations on video and analyzing them meticulously. As early as 1975, she took the initiative to create the Healthcare Communication Database, a database containing 18.000 recordings that has now existed for 50 years. The database provides a valuable insight into what goes on behind the closed doors of the examination room and what improvements are needed in both primary and secondary care.

Jozien was awarded the prestigious NWO Spinoza Prize for her work in 2006. With this highest Dutch distinction in science, she has carried out multiple research projects to demonstrate that clear and person-centered communication can indeed lead to better health outcomes.

To ensure that researchers and educators in the field of healthcare communication could learn from one another, Jozien was one of the founders and the first chair of the still-thriving and active association EACH (European Association for Communication in Healthcare; since renamed the International Association for Communication in Healthcare) in 2001, for which Nivel served as the secretariat until 2014.

In addition to her work at Nivel, Jozien was a professor at Utrecht University and supervised numerous researchers. Her critical mindset was loved by many and sometimes feared because of her clear stance. All of this stemmed from her deepest conviction that research can and must contribute to better healthcare, starting with communication. Nivel is grateful for all she has done for the institute. Colleagues and former colleagues will miss her.