Projects

Evidence based

Good health care offers appropriate solutions for the needs and goals of very different people. Not every health measure that appears reasonable at first glance leads to the desired effects. Distinguishing effective measures from ineffective - or even harmful - ones is the goal of evidence-based health care (EbHC). Evidence-based interventions are those whose effects have been scientifically studied and shown to be beneficial.
Whether an intervention is beneficial or harmful depends not only on its medical effects, but also on social, cultural and ethical aspects, as well as on the setting in which it is used. In our department, we develop and test concepts and methods that can be used to evaluate the complex measures of health care in a comprehensive and practice-oriented way.

Patient orientation and patient participation

Patients are at the center of healthcare. They have very different needs with regard to their treatments and treatment outcomes. The opportunity to draw attention to their own wishes is distributed differently among those affected. As a result, there is an imbalance in the care of different patient:groups. With our research, we develop methods for collecting and presenting the needs of different patient:ing groups. We take into account social, cultural and ethical aspects and involve those affected. In particular, we address the issue of active patient participation in clinical research. This means that patients themselves help to shape the research that concerns them. Patient participation has the potential to enhance the quality and relevance of research, to democratize research processes and to contribute to patient empowerment. Beyond the specific research focus, patient orientation and participation are of central importance in all research projects of our department. In this way, we want to contribute to demand-oriented and equitable care.

Further information on the focus on patient orientation and participation as well as the handout on patient participation in clinical research can be found here.

Practical relevance

Health services research should lead to an improvement in people's health. To achieve this, it is important that problems from everyday health care are taken up by research. At the same time, the results of health services research must be transferred into practice. In this focus area, we strive to

• generate targeted research questions from relevant but previously under-researched topics in health care practice,
• to investigate how existing concepts work in practice and
• explore how relevant research findings can inform health care practice.