News and Events

European research grant for serious gaming and eHealth intervention

Andrea Evers has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept grant to develop innovative therapeutic interventions. This project extends her current studies, supported by an ERC Consolidator Grant, in which she examines how expectations about health, such as the placebo effect, influence disease outcomes. The project will be carried out by Andrea Evers and Sylvia van Beugen of the Health, Medical and Neuropsychology unit.

Expectations about health and illness affect treatment outcomes. Probably best known is the above-mentioned placebo effect, which means that just the expectation that a treatment works has a therapeutic effect. The research group led by Andrea Evers, professor in health psychology, studies the underlying mechanisms and related therapeutic applications. The goal is to put the theoretical knowledge about health expectations into practice, for example by making use of placebo effects for innovative interventions.  

The ERC Proof of Concept grant will be used for the evolution and valorization of a serious game and eHealth interventions for both healthy populations and populations suffering from chronic illness. These interventions can have an impact on health expectations and related health outcomes. The research project will further develop the different elements of the interventions and study the user-friendliness and effects. Moreover, this grant means the first step towards commercial use.