Biography
My main research interest lies in the building, functioning and consequences of knowledge infrastructures for the governance of health care. I have studied such infrastructures both at (inter)national (e.g. the working of science advisory bodies), sectoral (e.g. the use of performance indicators in health care), organisational (e.g. planning & control cycles in hospitals) and shopfloor levels (e.g. the implementation and use of information technologies). Currently my main interest is in organisational infrastructures for quality and safety in health care. Projects related to this agenda are studies on the regionalisation of elderly and mental healthcare and a study on task differentiation of nursing care. Also I am involved in several studies with and focused on the work of the Healthcare Inspectorate.
Methodologically, I have specialised in qualitative, mainly ethnographic research methods. I have become increasingly interested in 'interventionist' or 'action' research as well as on the study of 'complex' interventions in health care and 'mixed methods' research.
I am a member of the Dutch research school of Science, Technology & Modern Culture and of the Society for the Social Study of Science. I participate in the European Health Policy Group, a group of political scientists and economists studying (comparative) health policy.
I teach in several programs of the Erasmus Shool of Health Policy and Management. I also coordinate a course on Organizing for Quality in the Nfu Master program on Quality and safety in healthcare..
- r.bal@erasmusmc.nl
Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
- r.bal@eshpm.eur.nl
More information
Work
- Relmbuss Biljers Fanda, Ari Probandari, Maarten Olivier Kok & Roland A Bal (2025) - Managing medicines in decentralization: discrepancies between national policies and local practices in primary healthcare settings in Indonesia - Health Policy and Planning, 40 (3), 346-357 - doi: 10.1093/heapol/czae114 - [link]
- Suzanne Lokman, Roland Bal, Robert Didden & Petri J.C.M. Embregts (2025) - The role of relational work in promoting safe community participation by people with mild intellectual disabilities and severe challenging behaviour living in residential facilities - Research in Developmental Disabilities, 158 - doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104946 - [link]
- Amalia Hasnida, Roland Bal, Reise Manninda, Stanley Saputra, Yunita Nugrahani, Faradiba Faradiba & Maarten Olivier Kok (2025) - Making intersectoral stakeholder engagement in medicine quality research work: lessons from the STARmeds study in Indonesia - Health Research Policy and Systems, 23 (1) - doi: 10.1186/s12961-025-01286-z - [link]
- Teyler van Muijden, Violet Steeghs, Marcello Aspria, Roland Bal & Hester van de Bovenkamp (2025) - Frontline professionals’ experiences of navigating boundaries in a layered care and support system for individuals with complex care needs in the Netherlands - Social Science and Medicine, 366 - doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117692 - [link]
- Julia van Kraaij, Neeltje de Vries, Hanna Wessel, Hester Vermeulen, Catharina van Oostveen, , Nienke Miedema, Syb Kuijper, Martijn Felder, Iris Wallenburg, Lucas Goossens, Roland Bal, Jet Spits, Hugo Schalkwijk, Dieke Martini, Pieterbas Lalleman, Dewi Stalpers & Lisette Schoonhoven (2025) - Enhancing work environments and reducing turnover intention: a multicenter longitudinal cohort study on differentiated nursing practices in Dutch hospitals - BMC Nursing, 24 (1) - doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-02681-7 - [link]
- Oemar van der Woerd, Iris Wallenburg, Jitse Schuurmans, W. K.(Wilma) van der Scheer & Roland Bal (2024) - Vage beleidsfiguren’ helpen bij lastige beleidsvragen - Sociale vraagstukken - [link]
- Oemar van der Woerd, Jitse Schuurmans, Iris Wallenburg, Wilma van der Scheer & Roland Bal (2024) - 'Netwerkvorming is professioneel aanmodderen' - [link]
- Lena Ansmann, Stefan Nöst, Mirjam Körner, Carolin Auschra, Roland Bal, Marina Böddeker, Ingo Bode, Jeffrey Braithwaite, Clara Breidenbach, Marie Coors, Ibrahim Demirer, Mark Exworthy, Lorenz Harst, Christian Heuser, Julia Hoffmann, Juliane Köberlein-Neu, Karl Krajic, Gregory Maniatopoulos, Russell Mannion, Ralph Möhler, Holger Pfaff, Monika A. Rieger, Esther Rind, M. A. Helge Schnack, M. A. Anke Wagner, Matthias Weigl, Michel Wensing, Siri Wiig, Eva Wild, Hendrik Wilhelm, Markus Wirtz & Katja Götz (2024) - Navigating the Future of Organisational Health Services Research in Germany and beyond: a Position Paper - Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)), 86 (S 04), S259-S266 - doi: 10.1055/a-2308-7384 - [link]
- Jacqueline C.F. van Oijen, Annemieke van Dongen-Leunis, Jeroen Postma, Thed van Leeuwen & Roland Bal (2024) - Achieving research impact in medical research through collaboration across organizational boundaries: Insights from a mixed methods study in the Netherlands - Health Research Policy and Systems, 22 (1) - doi: 10.1186/s12961-024-01157-z - [link]
- Suzanne Lokman, Roland Bal, Robert Didden & Petri J.C.M. Embregts (2024) - Factors affecting the feelings of safety among individuals with mild intellectual disabilities and severe challenging behaviour in residential care: A qualitative study of professional and service users’ perspectives - Journal of Intellectual Disabilities - doi: 10.1177/17446295241246569 - [link]
Radboudumc
- Start date approval
- November 2022
- End date approval
- November 2025
- Place
- NIJMEGEN
- Description
- Modulecoordinator master Kwaliteit en veiligheid N
ZonMw
- Start date approval
- November 2022
- End date approval
- November 2025
- Place
- DEN HAAG
- Description
- Lid Commissie Actie-onderzoek
ZonMw
- Start date approval
- November 2022
- End date approval
- November 2025
- Place
- DEN HAAG
- Description
- Lid commissie implementatiefellow doelmatigheid
ZonMw
- Start date approval
- November 2022
- End date approval
- November 2025
- Place
- DEN HAAG
- Description
- Lid commissie veerkracht preventie
