Zusammenfassung Bevölkerungsbezogene Perspektiven gewinnen in der medizinischen Versorgung angesichts globaler Herausforderungen wie Pandemien, sozialer Ungleichheit, Antibiotikaresistenzen und Klimawandel zunehmend an Bedeutung. Das Medizinstudium ist jedoch weiterhin überwiegend individualmedizinisch geprägt. Inhalte des Öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens (ÖGW) sowie praktische Einblicke in den Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienst (ÖGD) sind bislang nur begrenzt curricular verankert. Seit November 2023 ist es in Baden-Württemberg möglich an sechs Gesundheitsämtern (GÄ) ein PJ-Wahlfach im ÖGW zu absolvieren. Ziel der Studie ist die Evaluation der Einführung und Umsetzung des neuen PJs. Im Rahmen eines explorativ-sequentiellen Mixed-Methods-Designs wurden qualitative Einzelinterviews mit PJ-Studierenden und lehrverantwortlichen Personen aus sechs Pilot-Lehrgesundheitsämtern durchgeführt, auf deren Basis ein Fragebogeninstrument zur langfristigen Evaluation des PJ-Wahlfachs entwickelt und pilotiert wurde. Fünf Studierende und fünf verantwortliche Personen aus GÄ wurden interviewt, acht der 14 Studierenden nahmen an der Befragung teil. Das PJ-Wahlfach ÖGW wurde von Studierenden und Lehrenden insgesamt positiv bewertet. Die befragten Studierenden hoben die strukturierte Einarbeitung, die engagierte Betreuung sowie die Flexibilität bei Rotationsplanung und Arbeitszeiten hervor. Alle Studierenden gaben an, einen guten Überblick über die Tätigkeitsfelder des Gesundheitsamtes erhalten zu haben. Sechs von acht Studierenden vergaben die Bestnote und alle sprachen eine Weiterempfehlung aus. Praktische Kompetenzen wurden vor allem im Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitsdienst, der HIV-/STI-Sprechstunde sowie im Infektionsschutz erworben. Als Kritikpunkte wurde das Logbuch genannt, das als zu umfangreich und wenig praxisnah wahrgenommen wurde, sowie die standortübergreifende Organisation des PJ-Begleitunterrichts. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass das PJ-Wahlfach ÖGW einen Beitrag zur Sichtbarkeit des ÖGD und zur Berufsorientierung von Medizinstudierenden leisten kann. Vor dem Hintergrund der globalen Herausforderungen kann das Fach ÖGW dazu beitragen, bevölkerungsmedizinische Perspektiven im Medizinstudium abzubilden und praktisch erfahrbar zu machen. Darüber hinaus zeigen sich Hinweise, dass die Einführung des PJ auch organisationsentwickelnde Impulse in den Gesundheitsämtern setzen kann. Aufgrund der geringen Fallzahl und eines möglichen Selektionsbias sind die Ergebnisse jedoch nur eingeschränkt verallgemeinerbar.
Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for university hospitals to have crisis management teams to anticipate the developing situation and plan resource allocation and staff distribution. To this end, mathematical modelling studies are a tool that can provide forecasts of future developments and their uncertainties. This study aimed to understand the role of mathematical modelling in crisis management teams at German university hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify potential areas for improvement. Methods As part of the project PREPARED of the Network of University Medicine, we administered questionnaires to all German university hospitals and analysed all data descriptively. Results Data were obtained from 24 of the 36 university hospitals that existed in Germany at this time (67%). All these reported having crisis management teams during the COVID-19 pandemic that had been set up specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic and were tasked with addressing the challenges of the pandemic. Of these 24 university hospitals, 19 hospitals (79%) used results from mathematical modelling studies when making decisions concerning the distribution of operational beds, restrictions on elective care, or staff allocation. Data from the Robert Koch Institute ( n =9, 38%), data from the hospital itself ( n =8, 33%), and/or local/regional data ( n =11, 46%) were used as the basis for modelling. Conclusion Modelling results played an important role in crisis management decision making at university hospitals in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Automated access to interoperable, reliable data and locally applicable models should be created to secure the validity of modelling results in future crises.
Background Community Health Nursing (CHN) supports preventive and community-based care across individual, community, and system levels. In Austria, CHN was piloted in 117 EU-funded projects (2022-2024), guided by the Public Health Intervention Wheel (PHIW). Aim To assess Austrian experts' views on the applicability of the PHIW and to identify competencies needed beyond basic nursing education for effective CHN practice. Methods Qualitative secondary analysis of 15 problem-centered expert interviews; data were analyzed using Mayring's qualitative content analysis. The PHIW served as heuristic and analytical frame. Results All PHIW sectors were deemed relevant, but unevenly emphasized. Strengths lie in counseling/education (blue), coordination/case management (green), and case-based assessment/screening (red). Marked gaps appear at community and system levels: surveillance/monitoring (red) beyond the individual, coalition building and community organizing (orange), and advocacy, policy, and social marketing (yellow) are weakly developed. Recurrent needs include public-health thinking, system and interface knowledge, and didactic skills. Case management was consistently highlighted as a key competency yet is only sparsely embedded in curricula. Communication emerged as a cross-cutting capability for relationship-building, navigation, and interprofessional collaboration. Conclusions The PHIW is a robust orienting framework, but context-sensitive refinements are required for Austria. Clear role definitions, including care-level-specific responsibilities, structured continuing education and add-on qualifications, and a broad competency profile encompassing clinical skills, public health, prevention, as well as pedagogical, management, and networking competencies and constitutes a key prerequisite for effectively implementing integrated, population-oriented CHN practice.
Background People with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience a high burden of disease, substantially reduced life expectancy, and limited access to healthcare services. Despite international human rights commitments, significant inequalities in prevention, health promotion, and healthcare persist compared with the general population. The aim of the Inclusive Medicine Conference 2026 was to identify key challenges and to develop participatory recommendations for a sustainable and inclusive healthcare system.Methods A multidisciplinary and participatory future workshop was conducted during the Inclusive Medicine Conference in Fulda, involving approximately 100 participants from healthcare, academia, disability support services, self-advocacy organizations, health insurers, as well as people with ID and their relatives. Discussions took place in four moderated working groups focusing on financing, responsibility, coordination, and education. Recommendations were documented, discussed in plenary, and consolidated.Results The main challenges did not lie in the lack of medical possibilities but in structural deficiencies of the healthcare system. Key deficits were identified in financing, allocation of responsibilities, cross-sectoral coordination, and education and training. Ten recommendations for action were developed from the discussions. In addition, a nationwide Research and Translation Network for Inclusive Health was established to systematically integrate healthcare delivery, research, evidence generation, and knowledge translation.Conclusions The challenges of inclusive healthcare are well described. However, the primary need today lies less in further problem identification than in the development, evaluation, and sustainable implementation of evidence-based models of care. Interdisciplinary networks, living labs, and shared data infrastructures represent key prerequisites for achieving this goal.
Background The necessity for collaborations between the public health service (PHS) and university institutions is becoming increasingly apparent. Political measures such as the Pact for the PHS call for stronger networking in order to gain scientific insights more quickly, transfer them into practice and promote evidence-based health measures. This requirement was subjected to rigorous testing as part of the BMG-funded joint project Infektionsschutz.Neu.Gestalten (I.N.Ge). Methods The collaborative process was reflected through the utilisation of the participatory World Caf & eacute; method. Partners from local health authorities and university discussed and analyzed their key experiences. These experiences were systematically evaluated using cluster analysis. This analysis identified central aspects of the type of collaboration, methodology and organisation. Results The analysis indicates that a joint research project such as I.N.Ge require a well-defined distribution of roles, early and continuous coordination, and a shared understanding of scientific work and research. The collaboration resulted in a more profound understanding of each other's working methods and facilitated mutual knowledge transfer. Challenges experienced were the presence of different institutional structures, cultures and working environments, as well as limited human resources. Furthermore, the expectations of priority tasks and objectives differed between the institutions.Discussion The analysis shows that transdisciplinary collaborations between the PHS and university institutions facilitates the establishment of a robust scientific foundation within the PHS, while contributing the practical relevance of university research. At the same time, it is clear that the structural disparities between administrative and scientific institutions continue to pose a challenge and must be addressed in order to enable sustainable collaborations. Conclusion The findings indicate the necessity for long-term cooperative structures to ensure the sustainable integration of scientific expertise in the PHS. Collaborations should be made as permanent as possible, equipped with adequate resources and supported by clear communication and decision-making channels. Based on this, recommendations for action to strengthen and further cooperations can be derived.
