Tinne Smets

MSc, PhD - Communication Scientist

Tinne Smets is an Assistant Professor and senior researcher in the End-of-Life Care Research Group. She holds a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences, a candidate degree in Law, and a PhD in Social Health Sciences. Her doctoral research focused on the medical practice of euthanasia in Belgium and was part of the IWT-SBO-funded project “Monitoring the Quality of End-of-Life Care in Flanders” (2006–2010). 

Tinne co-leads the group’s Aging and Palliative Care Research Program. Her work primarily focuses on improving care for older people in nursing homes, hospitals, and community settings, particularly during the final stages of life. She is currently co-leading the Horizon Europe-funded EU NAVIGATE project (2022–2027), and is principal investigator of two other studies: “Care Programme for the Last Days of Life in Nursing Homes” (2023–2027, funded by Stand Up Against Cancer) and “Development and pilot-testing of RATHER-NH, an innovative complex intervention to Reduce Avoidable Transitions between Hospital or Emergency Room and Nursing Home” (2022–2026, funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders, FWO). Tinne is also a senior researcher and coordination team member of the CONNECT project (FWO-SBO, 2024–2028), which aims to improve social connection for people experiencing serious illness, dying, and bereavement in Flanders.

 In previous years, she played key roles in the coordination of several large-scale national and international projects, including CAPACITY (FWO-SBO, 2019–2023), FLIECE (IWT-SBO, 2011–2015), and PACE (EU FP7 Health Programme), a European collaboration on palliative care for older people.