Leiden University strives to provide a safe and healthy working environment for all its employees. On this page, you'll find information about what to do in case of illness, pregnancy, functional limitations, and mental well-being, as well as the support available to you.

Lecture, Food for Thought

Are you an international researcher working for Leiden University? Please note that you probably are legally obliged to take out health insurance. Here you will find if you need a public or a private health insurance, and how to apply for it.

If you wish, you can take part in the collective health insurance scheme offered by Leiden University and Zorg en Zekerheid. This scheme offers a collective discount, for you and your family.

Knowledge Festival

Veel Nederlanders hebben fysieke, psychische en sociale problemen tegelijk. Zij hebben hulp nodig van meerdere professionals uit verschillende organisaties. Fia van Heteren onderzoekt hoe deze professionals met elkaar én met cliënten samenwerken, en welke factoren deze samenwerking versterken of bel…

If you incur professional expenses, such as professional association fees, you can offset these expenses against your salary, holiday allowance and year-end bonus via the Individual Choices Model.

The most common problem areas PhD students face are listed below, as well as how one can begin to fix these problems.

At many university locations the health, safety and environment tasks are coordinated by the General Services Department (UFB). The Faculty of Sciene has its own HSE-service. You can contact your health and safety coordinator (HSE coordinator) for advice and information on working conditions. In most…

It appears from a study conducted by Independer and Q&A Research that at least one in five Dutch people think you can be refused basic health insurance if you have health problems.

In secondary education, teacher collaboration is used to further teachers’ professional development. In her dissertation, Loes de Jong (PhD candidate at ICLON) examines how various collaborative initiatives stimulate teacher learning. Her thesis defence is on 20 May 2021.

Depression or ADHD? Neatly delineated diagnoses fail to do justice to the infinitely complex reality that they refer to, argues Eiko Fried in a new paper for JAMA Psychiatry. His proposal: to map the underlying mechanisms of mental health problems using a Mental Health Atlas.

Better health for all the residents of The Hague region. This is the mission of Health Campus The Hague – formerly LUMC Campus The Hague. Eight partners – the LUMC, Leiden University, the municipality of The Hague and five healthcare institutions (see box) – are collaborating intensively in healthcare…

The Minister has requested urgent advice from Sombroek-van Doorm in relation to the vaccination of children aged between 5 and 12 years against COVID-19.

Mirjam Sombroek, Aart Hendriks and Martine de Vries (LUMC) will work on mapping the ethical and legal aspects of gene therapy. The aim is to establish a best practice of how society can best deal with these therapies. For example with guidelines on how to regulate, reimburse and make these therapies…

For the first time, research has been conducted on how the health of detained persons prior to their detention differs from that of non-detainees and to what extent health problems change over the period: from before and after their detention.

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

Associate Professor Mirjam Sombroek has been asked for advice on account of her expertise in the area of health law and children’s rights.

A generation is growing up in The Hague Southwest with little outdoor play space. Researchers from Health Campus The Hague are following what the BRUIS neighbourhood approach does and means for children and young people in the neighbourhood.

Mirjam Oomens was working on her PhD research on language in the consulting room when she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Four years later, she has made it her mission to encourage doctors and other healthcare professionals to make fewer statements about life expectancy. 'Such a conviction can…

PhD defence

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University will start a new two-year English-taught master’s programme in Population Health Management (PHM) on 1 September 2021. The programme, which has been given the green light by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO),…

A healthy and happy society. This is what researchers from the Faculty of Social Sciences are working towards, together with a selection of partners from different disciplines and regions. To further structure research about Health and Well-being, the faculty has identified three focus area’s. Researchers…

Working in an operating theatre is a highly competitive sport. High work pressure, stress, and unexpected developments during operations. This requires a lot from care professionals who need to be mentally resilient to be able to deliver peak performances time and time again. What makes a care professional…

‘Violence as a Population Health Problem’ is one of 33 interdisciplinary projects that have been launched thanks to a Kiem grant. The project team will analyse a large patient database to identify links between violence and other health problems. ‘Violence can also be an expression of other factors,’…

The Social Resilience & Security interdisciplinary programme broadens its scope by embedding two research projects lead by Dr. Joanne Mouthaan. The projects adress suicide prevention skills and mental health of Ukraine refugees. Both projects will be integrated in the programme with the aim to improve…

By Royal Decree, Mirjam Sombroek van Doorm was appointed as a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands as of 1 January 2024. She has joined the standing committee for Ethics and Law as well as the temporary Brain Injury through Sports Committee. The Health Council of the Netherlands is an independent…

Even though it is generally known that Autism and ADHD are more common in men, and depression or anxiety disorders are more common among women, it is still not well understood if, how and when sex differences impact neurodiversity and mental health. To better understand this complex issue, 25 international…

Starting 1 October 2022, Mirjam Sombroek-van Doorn has been appointed as Professor Law and Health.