A.V. (Aranka Viviënne) Ballering

Aranka has a background in Biomedical Sciences (VU University Amsterdam) and International Public Health (VU University Amsterdam, Maastricht University). She worked on social stigma towards people affected by leprosy in India and people affected by HIV/AIDS in The Netherlands. Currently, Aranka is a PhD student at the University of Groningen/UMCG. She studies the association between sex, gender and common somatic symptoms. She looks at a variety of aspects that relate to this, including sex differences in the prevalence, help-seeking behaviour, diagnostic interventions, and the effectiveness of these interventions provided for these symptoms.