Monique Tabak and Mattiènne van der Kamp receive first Willem Hoevers Award

Monique Tabak researches how digital technology can contribute to better care for children with asthma. In collaboration with Mattiènne van der Kamp, among others, she looks at the use of eHealth and home monitoring to better track symptoms, medication use and lung function. The aim is to make asthma care more personalised and to give healthcare professionals, children and parents faster insight into the course of the disease. Monique Tabak: “For children and parents, asthma is not something that only matters during a hospital appointment. It affects their daily lives. With digital support, we want to better understand what is happening, so that care becomes more tailored and children can take part as normally as possible. For example, how sleep affects asthma.”

Mattiènne van der Kamp focuses on better disease control and on preventing deterioration and hospital admissions at a young age. In doing so, he helps children to take part again with their peers now, while also limiting lung damage and health problems later in life.

Part of the prize money will be invested in a children’s panel, in which children actively think along and participate in care innovations and scientific research, such as research into sleep and asthma. Mattiènne: “The voice of the child is essential in developing care that truly fits their lives.”

By presenting the award on Children’s Day, the foundation behind the Willem Hoevers Award underlines the importance of continued attention to children’s wellbeing. With this award, the foundation wants to express appreciation for often invisible efforts and, at the same time, inspire others to commit themselves to children who are suffering. The Willem Hoevers Award is a new distinction that Stichting Kans voor een Kind presents to individuals, groups or organisations from Twente who are particularly committed to children in vulnerable situations.

For more than 20 years, dozens of volunteers have been working to fulfil the wishes of children from Twente who are seriously ill or chronically suffering, or of children who receive medical care for this in Twente. The foundation wants to give these children magical moments: moments when they can truly be children again, free from worry. The volunteers dedicate themselves entirely voluntarily and with a large and warm heart. Together, we continue the work of Willem Hoevers, the man who started Kans voor een Kind in 2002.

Want to know more? Visit www.kansvooreenkind.nl.