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Sanne Houba wins Unilever Research Prize 2025

Low Back- and Neck Pain and the Work Ability of Ageing Workers.

Sanne Houba, student of the FHML Master Occupational Health and Sustainable Work, Maastricht University is one of the winners of the Unilever Research Prize 2025.  She received this prestigious award for her master thesis entitled “Low Back- and Neck Pain and the Work Ability of Ageing Workers. Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study”.

Low Back- and Neck Pain

In her thesis Sanne focused on low back- and neck pain, which are highly prevalent in the aging work force, and may have major consequences for employee wellbeing, health and labor participation. In her thesis Sanne investigated the impact of low back- and neck pain on various dimensions of work ability over time.

Sanne made use of questionnaire data of a subsample from the Maastricht Cohort Study, with 2 years follow-up, involving over 1,900 aging workers. 

Results of her study showed that low back and neck pain among workers were statistically significantly associated with poor physical work ability over the course of two-year follow-up. Stratified analyses moreover showed that low back- and neck pain combined with physically demanding work further increased the risk of poor physical work ability over time. 
Findings emphasize the necessity of identifying and addressing work-related risk factors to support and foster sustainable employability among ageing workers.

During the Master research period, Sanne was supervised by Dr. Nicole Jansen, senior researcher in the research unit Occupational Epidemiology and staff member of the master program Occupational Health and Sustainable Work. 

Sanne completed her master thesis with an excellent grade (9.1). Her research culminated in a sound scientific paper which will be submitted to an international scientific journal shortly. The paper also includes clear recommendations for future research, and for HRM and occupational health management.

Sanna Houba Unilever 2025

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