The research project value-based healthcare (VBHC) in pulmonary sarcoidosis has been nominated for the VBHC-Prize. The VBHC-Prize rewards those projects that have adopted a fundamentally new line of thinking in creating excellent patient value in terms of real outcomes. Each year, one excellent initiative is awarded the VBHC Prize, a prestigious award that boosts this initiative in many ways. The VBHC Prize winner will be selected by a renowned jury, and awarded by honorary chairman Harvard professor Michael Porter on the 11^th of May.

The research project aims to compare treatment outcomes for pulmonary sarcoidosis patients among hospitals internationally. Participating hospitals collect, exchange and discuss their outcomes with the aim to identify best practices. The study was initiated by prof. dr. Jan Grutters, pulmonologist and head of the ILD Center of Excellence, St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. An international team of pulmonologists was set up with leading experts regarding pulmonary sarcoidosis. In addition to the ILD Center of Excellence, five other centers of expertise are participating: the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland (USA ), the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Royal Brompton Hospital, London (UK), the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati (USA ) and the University Hospital Leuven (Belgium). The research project is funded through ZonMw (Experiment TopZorg). Nynke Kampstra started her four-year PhD research project at the ILD Center of Excellence in February 2015. Her supervisors are prof. Jan Grutters, prof. Douwe Biesma, dr. Paul van der Nat and dr. Philip van der Wees. This study is registered under file number 80-84200-98-14103.

Nynke Kampstra was born on February 26^th, 1988, in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. She studied Nutrition for her BSc and finished her two-year Master’s programme Public Health & Society at the Wageningen University in 2014. During her studies she worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters for her thesis project. For her internship and a consultancy period, Nynke worked with the World Food Programme (WFP), where she conducted and implemented research in Burkina Faso studying the effect of increased energy density of porridges on total energy and nutrient intake in young infants.

Nynke Kampstra started her four-year PhD research project at the ILD Center of Excellence, Department of Pulmonology,  St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands in February 2015, with prof. dr. Jan Grutters, prof. dr. Douwe Biesma, dr. Paul van der Nat and dr.Philip van der Wees as her supervisors. Her research project is titled: ‘Value-based health care (VBHC) in pulmonary sarcoidosis’, funded by ZonMw.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether with steering on health outcomes improvement of the management of pulmonary sarcoidosis patients can be achieved (defined as outcomes relative to costs) and, if so, how the use of outcomes measures should be implemented within hospitals.

In addition to the ILD Center of Excellence, St. Antonius Hospital, five other centers of expertise are participating: the Cleveland Clinic (USA ), the Erasmus Medical Center (Netherlands), Royal Brompton Hospital (UK), the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (USA ) and the University Hospital Leuven (Belgium). In 2015 she received the ‘Research Support 2016’ grant from the Dutch Sarcoidosis Patients Society (Sarcoïdose Belangenvereniging Nederland) to support the research-project mentioned before.  In September 2016 she started with the Postgraduate Epidemiology Master at the Utrecht University, a Master’s programme for PhD candidates.

email: n.kampstra@antoniusziekenhuis.nl