Anne-Lore Scherrens

Anne-Lore Scherrens is a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the End-of-Life Care Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University, as well as the Health Promotion Research Group at Ghent University. She holds a doctoral degree in Health Education, Health Promotion, and Pediatric Nursing, with research focused on applying health promotion approaches and behavioral theories to understand factors related to palliative care behaviors among people with serious illness.

• Doctoral Thesis: "Using a health promotion approach and behavioral theories to gain insight into factors related to palliative care behaviors among people confronted with serious illness"
• Master's Degree: Health Education and Health Promotion
• Bachelor's Degree: Pediatric Nursing

Dr. Scherrens specializes in palliative care research with a focus on behavioral interventions, particularly examining how cancer patients initiate conversations about palliative care with physicians. Her work integrates behavioral theories with health promotion frameworks to develop practical interventions that improve communication and care pathways. She actively contributes to multiple EU-funded projects including MyPath (developing digital patient-centered care pathways), PAL COPD (integrating palliative care for COPD patients), PHYSIOPAL (tailored physiotherapy for advanced cancer patients), and COFII (integrating palliative care in phase I oncology trials). Her research combines qualitative methods, systematic reviews, and theory-based intervention development to address critical gaps in palliative care implementation.

Analysis of her publication record reveals a strong focus on patient-centered approaches to palliative care, particularly examining communication barriers between patients and physicians, support needs of vulnerable populations (especially adolescents with parental cancer), and implementation of evidence-based care pathways. Her work consistently applies behavioral theories to understand and address practical challenges in palliative care delivery across multiple healthcare settings.

As a researcher funded by the Research Foundation Flanders, Dr. Scherrens actively supervises PhD candidates and contributes to significant collaborative projects. Her current work includes the EU MyPath project developing digital patient-centered care pathways and the EU PAL COPD project integrating palliative care for people with advanced COPD. She also supervises a PhD focusing on support needs of adolescents and young adults confronting parental cancer.

Dr. Scherrens is actively involved in the End-of-Life Care Research Group and collaborates extensively with multiple institutions across Belgium and Europe. Her research has particular emphasis on translating behavioral theory into practical interventions that improve palliative care communication and accessibility, with special attention to vulnerable populations including cancer patients, adolescents with parental illness, and patients with advanced chronic conditions.