Patient Council

To ensure that patients are represented in the APPROACH project, a Patient Council has been set up, consisting of 7 patients from Europe. Staff members from the Dutch Arthritis Foundation (Reumafonds) and Arthritis Research UK will support the council. The Patient Council has already contributed to the design of the clinical study, and will maintain close contact with the researchers throughout the project.

The Patient Council consists of: Jane Taylor (United Kingdom), Maureen Grossman (United Kingdom), Sjouke Dekker (The Netherlands), Jon Skandsen (Norway), and Diny Jurg (The Netherlands). 


The APPROACH Patient Council in 2019. FLTR: Jane Taylor, Sjouke Dekker, Maureen Grossman, Diny Jurg, Jon Skandsen.

Since the start of APPROACH, the Patient Council has been actively engaged in the project to provide the perspective of people living with osteoarthritis. By adding practical experience to the technical aspects of study design and implementation, the Patient Council has helped shape the project with particular consideration for the interests of study participants. In addition, the Patient Council is involved in preparing newsletters to keep study participants informed about the project.

Study participants make an essential contribution to the success of APPROACH, and it is important for the project team to hear how they experience the research and the communication around it.

Please contact the Patient Council at if you have questions or comments.