Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology

Dr. Andreas Bergholz

Jasmin Brockmann

Thi Hoai An Dang

Anke Desch

Hella Fügemann

Dr. Kathrin Gödde

Tim Holetzek

Dr. Lisa Korte

Dr. Joshua Paul

Dr. Britta Rutert

Susanne Schulze

Matthias Schweitzer

Anne Thier

Helen Deimel
E-Mail: helen.deimel[at]mhb-fontane.de

Niklas Demmerer
E-Mail: niklas.demmerer[at]mhb-fontane.de

Fiona Eichhorn
E-Mail: fiona.eichhorn[at]mhb-fontane.de

Leonie Englert
E-Mail: leonie.englert[at]mhb-fontane.de

Helen Frenzel
E-Mail: helen.frenzel[at]mhb-fontane.de

Phone (all student assistants): +49 3381 41-1296

Selection (for a complete list of publications click here)

2022

• Gödde, K., Fügemann, H., Desch, A., Stumm, J., Schindel, D., Rieckmann, N., Meisel, A., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Goerling, U., Holmberg, C. (2022) Development of a patient‑oriented navigation model for patients with lung cancer and stroke in Germany. BMC Health Services Research doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08063-6

• Tschorn, M., Schulze, S., Förstner, B., Holmberg, C., Spallek, J., Heinz, A., Rapp, M. (2022) Predictors and prevalence of hazardous alcohol use in middle-late to late adulthood in Europe. Aging & Mental Health

• Thier, A., Breuning, M., Wolfram, C., Zeitz, O., Holmberg, C. (2022) Emotional and physical experiences of people with neovascular age-related macular degeneration during the injection process in Germany: A qualitative study. BMJ Open

• Sippel, A.; Riemann-Lorenz, K.; Pöttgen, J.; Wiedemann, R.; Drixler, K.; Bitzer, E. M.; Holmberg, C.; Lezius, S.; Heesen, C. (2022) German eHealth Impact Questionnaire for Online Health Information Users with Multiple Sclerosis: Instrument Validation Study. Preprints 2022, 2022020138

• Siberzahn-Jandt, G., Thier, A., Holmberg, C. (2022) Beschäftigte in Einrichtungen der Gesundheitsversorgung berichten über ihre eigene Coronaerkrankung. Gesundheit und Gesellschaft (Hg.) 2022 (in press)

• Schulze, S., Sappl, I., Uhlenbrock, G., Thier, A. K., Rapp M. A., Spallek, J., Holmberg, C. (2022) Belastungen von Pflegenden während der Coronakrise in Deutschland: ein narratives Review. Pflegewissenschaften

• Schreyer, A.G.; Schneider, K.; Dendl, L. M.; Jaehn, P.; Molwitz, I.; Westphalen, K.; Holmberg, C. (2022) Patientenzentrierte Radiologie – Eine Hinführung durch ein narratives Review. RoFo : Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Rontgenstrahlen und der Nuklearmedizin

• Kuske, S.; Holmberg, C.; Wensing, M.; Reuschenbach, B.; Büscher, A.; Neugebauer, E.; Pfaff, H.; Karbach, U.; Balzer, K.; Köpke, S.; Ernstmann, N. (2022) Studiengänge zur Versorgungsforschung in Deutschland: aktueller Stand und zukünftige Perspektiven. Gesundheitswesen 84(03): 227-241

• Jaehn, P., Pagonas, N., Sasko, B., Ritter, O., Holmberg, C., Rapp, M. A., Spallek, J., Hoffmann, S., Westhoff, T., Kelesidis, T. (2022) Levels of high-density lipoprotein lipid peroxidation according to spatial socioeconomic deprivation and rurality among patients with coronary artery disease. European Journal of Preventive

• Jaehn, P., Andresen, H., Bergholz, A., Pangonas, N., Hauptmann, M., Neugebauer, E.A., Holmberg, C., Ritter, O., Sasko, B. (2022) Contextualising the association of socioeconomic deprivation with hospitalisation rates of myocardial infarction in a rural area in eastern Germany. Rural and Remote Health (2), p. 6658–6660

• Holmberg, C., Eich-Krohm, A., Ringkamp, D., König, F., Weigt, J., Paul, J., Apfelbacher, C., Silberzahn-Jandt, G., Großmann, S., Heidecker, L.-D., Elsbrand, A., Bergholz, A., Merz, S. (2022) Pandemie-Management unter Berücksichtigung des Pflegealltags und dem Bedürfnis nach guter Pflege. Ergebnisse und Handlungsempfehlungen aus den CoronaCare-Workshops. Gesundheitswesen

• Holmberg, C. (2022) Epidemiologisches Wissen, persönliche Erfahrungen und Entscheidungsfindung – Überlegungen zum Konzept der Ärzte-Patienten-Beziehung. Facetten von Gesundheitskompetenzceres (Hg.) 2022 (in press)

• Holetzek, T., Holmberg, C., (2022) Representation in participatory health care decision-making: Reflections on an Application-Oriented Model. Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13483

• Sasko, B., Jaehn, P., Ritter, O., Holmberg, C. (2022) Understanding the importance of social determinants and rurality for the long-term outcome after acute myocardial infarction. Study protocol for a single-centre cohort study. BMJ open, accepted

• Schreyer A. G., Schneider, K., Dendl, L. M., Jaehn, P., Molwitz, I., Westphalen, K., Holmberg, C. (2022) Patient Centered Radiology – An Introduction in Form of a Narrative Review. Fortschr Röntgenstr, https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1735-3552

• Arena, C., Holmberg, C., Winkler, V., Jaehn, P. (2022) The Health Status and Healthcare Utilization of Ethnic Germans in Russia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010166

• Mantke, R.; Schneider, C.; Weylandt, K.; Gretschel, S.; Marusch, F.; Kube, R.; Loew, A.; Jaehn, P.; Holmberg, C.; Hunger, R.(2022) Epidemiologie und operative Behandlung des Pankreaskarzinoms im Flächenland Brandenburg : Analyse von 5418 Fällen; Der Chirurg, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00104-021-01561-z

• Holmberg, C. and Blödt, S. (2022) Patientenzentrierung durch Digitalisierung. In: Bass, J.(Hrsg.). Gesundheit im Zeitalter der Plattformökonomie - Ziele. Herausforderungen. Handlungsoptionen. ISBN: 978-3-95466-690-4

2021

• Mantke, R.; Schneider, C.; Weylandt, K.; Gretschel, S.; Marusch, F.; Kube, R.; Loew, A.; Jaehn, P.; Holmberg, C.; Hunger, R.(2021) Epidemiologie und operative Behandlung des Pankreaskarzinoms im Flächenland Brandenburg : Analyse von 5418 Fällen; Der Chirurg

  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00104-021-01561-z

• Kass, B., Dornquast, C., Rieckmann, N., Goerling, U., Holmberg, C., Reinhold, T. (2021): Cost-effectiveness of patient navigation for lung cancer – a systematic review. In: F1000Res 10, S. 314. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.51893.2.

• Kass, B., Dornquast, C., Meisel, A., Holmberg, C., Rieckmann, N., Reinhold, T. (2021) Cost-effectiveness of patient navigation programs for stroke patients–A systematic review; PLoS ONE 16(10): e0258582; doi: 1371/journal.pone.0258582

• König, F. (2021) Berufliches Crossover zwischen ökonomischer und soziokultureller Fachwelt. Eine biografieanalytische Untersuchung. Leverkusen-Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich (Qualitative Fall- und Prozessanalysen. Biographie - Interaktion - Soziale Welten Ser, v.23). https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kxp/detail.action?docID=6670312

• Schulze, S. and Holmberg, C. (2021) Bedeutung und Belastung von Pflegekräften während der Corona-Krise; Public Health Forum, Vol. 29, No. 1 https://doi.org/10.1515/pubhef-2020-0114

• Holmberg, C. (2021) Experiencing Cancer. An Ethnographic Study on Illness and Disease; Ethical Challenges in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63749-1_16

• Rutert, B., Stritter, W., Eggert, A., Auge, U., Längler, A., Seifert, G., Holmberg, C. (2021) Development of an Integrative Care Program in a Pediatric Oncology Unit, Complment Med Res 28:131-138, https://doi.org/10.1159/000510247

• Blödt, S., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Seifert, G., Holmberg, C. (2021) Trust, medical expertise and humaneness: A qualitative study on people with cancer’satisfaction with medical care; Health Expect. 00:1-10, https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13171

• Jaehn, P., Holmberg, C., Uhlenbrock, U., Pohl, A., Finkenzeller, T., Pawlik, M.T., Quack, I., Ernstberger, A., Rockmann, F., Schreyer, A., (2021) Differential trends of admissions in accident and emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, BMC Emergency Medicine, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-021-00436-0

• Kaiser, M., Adami, S., Lucius-Hoene, G., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Goerling, U., Breuning, M., Holmberg, C., (2021) Learning-by-doing: The importance of experiential knowledge sharing for meeting the information needs of people with colorectal cancer in Germany – a qualitative study; BMJopen, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038460

• Hiltrop, K., Heidkamp, P., Halbach, S., Brock‐Midding, E., Kowalski, C., Holmberg, C., Ernstmann, N.: Occupational rehabilitation of male breast cancer patients: Return patterns, motives, experiences, and implications—A qualitative study, European Journal of Cancer Care,doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13402

• Mittring-Junghans, N., Holmberg, C., Wit, CM., Teut, M.: Thoughts, beliefs and concepts concerning infectious childhood diseases of physicians practicing homeopathic, anthroposophic and conventional medicine – A qualitative study. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 21, 46 (2021)

  doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-021-03216-2

2020

• Bergholz, Andreas (2020): Bilder von jungen Menschen aus der Sicht Älterer- Eine rekonstruktive Studie am Beispiel eines innerstädtischen Wohnquartiers in Nordrhein-Westfalen. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften; doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-31707-2

• Anna Lindblad, Simone Kaucher, Philipp Jaehn, Hiltraud Kajüter, Bernd Holleczek, Lauren Lissner, Heiko Becher, Volker Winkler (2020): The Incidence of Intestinal Gastric Cancer among Resettlers in Germany—Do Resettlers Remain at an Elevated Risk in Comparison to the General Population? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020, 17(24), 9215; doi: 10.3390/ijerph17249215

• Holmberg, C. and Adami, S. (2020) Leben mit dem Stoma; Der Onkologe; 26 (12); 1162-1166; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00761-020-00847-x

• Jedro, Charline; Holmberg, Christine; Tille, Florian; Widmann, Jonas; Schneider, Alice; Stumm, Judith; Döpfmer, Susanne; Kuhlmey, Adelheid; Schnitzer, Susanne (2020) The acceptability of task-shifting from doctors to allied health professionals—results from a representative telephone survey of members of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Deutsches Ärzteblattl Int 2020; 117: 583-90 doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0583

• Stritter, Wiebke; Rutert, Britta; Eggert, Angelika; Längler, Alfred; Holmberg, Christine; Seifert, Georg (2020) Evaluation of an Integrative Care Program in Pediatric Oncology. doi: 10.1177/1534735420928393

• Jaehn, P., Mena, E., Merz, S., Hoffmann, R., Gößwald, A., Rommel, A., Holmberg, C. on behalf of the ADVANCE GENDER study group (2020) Non-response in a national health survey in Germany: an intersectionality-informed multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy; PLoS ONE; 15(8): e0237349. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237349

• Jaehn, P., Rehling, J., Klawunn, R., Merz, S., Holmberg, C. on behalf of the ADVANCE GENDER study group (2020) Practice of reporting social characteristics when describing representativeness of epidemiological cohort studies – A rationale for an intersectional perspective; SSM Population Health; 11: 100617, doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100617

• Jedro, C., Tille F., Stumm, J., Holmberg, C., Kuhlmey, A., Schnitzer, S. (2020) Delegation ärztlicher Leistungen an Medizinische Fachangestellte – Akzeptanz und Beurteilung durch die Bevölkerung. Deutsches Ärzteblatt int.; (im Druck)

• Diekmann, A., Heuser, C., Schellenberger, B., Bohmeier, B.; Holmberg, C.; Ansmann, L. Ernstmann, N. (2020). Patient participation in multidisciplinary tumor conferences: Providers' perceptions of patients' need satisfaction and emotional experiences. Psycho-Oncology. doi: 10.1002/pon.5413. (im Druck)

• Domanska, O. M., Bollweg, T. M., Loer A.-K., Holmberg, C., Schenk L.; Jordan, S. (2020). Development and psychometric properties of a questionnaire assessing self-reported generic health literacy in adolescence. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17(8):2860, doi: 10.3390/ijerph17082860

• Thier, A., Holmberg, C. (2020). The Patients’ View: Age-related Macular Degeneration and its Effects - A Meta-synthesis. Disability and Rehabilitation. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1775901 (im Druck)

• Gödde, K., Fügemann, H., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Grimberg, M., Goerling, U., Siegerink, B., Rieckmann, N., Holmberg, C. (2020) Strukturierte Erfassung von Unterstützungsangeboten für Lungenkrebs- und Schlaganfallbetroffene in Berlin; Gesundheitswesen (im Druck)

• Schultze, M., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Holmberg, C. (2020) Discussing the effects of prostate cancer beyond biographical disruption and new normalcy: the experiences of men with prostate cancer in Germany. Sociology of Health & Illness 42(6): 1359-1378. doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13113

• Breuning, M., Schäfer-Fauth, L., Lucius-Hoene, G., Holmberg, C. (2020). Connecting one’s own illness story to the illness experiences of others on a website - An evaluation study using the think aloud method. Patient Education and Counseling 103(1), 199-207. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2019.08.014.

• Jaehn, P., Bobrova, N., Saburova, L., Kudryavtsev, A.V., Malyutina, S., Cook, S. (2020). The relation of gender role attitudes with depression and generalised anxiety disorder in two Russian cities. Journal of Affective Disorders 264, 348-357. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.027.

• Holmberg, Christine (Hg.) (2020): Krankheitsnarrative in der Versorgungsforschung. In Netzwerk qualitativer Gesundheitsforschung (Hrsg.). Perspektiven qualitativer Gesundheitsforschung. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa Verlag.

2019

• Akçay, M., Drees, S., Geffert, K., Havemann, M., Hommes, F., Jaehn, P., Krisam, M., Mohsenpour, A., Sell, K., Stratil, J., von Philipsborn, P. (2019). Öffentliche Gesundheit in Deutschland. Eine Perspektive des Nachwuchses. Das Gesundheitswesen (efirst). doi: 10.1055/a-0795-3477.

• Gunn, C.M., Bokhour, B.G., Parker, V.A., Battaglia, T.A., Parker, P.A., Fagerlin, A., McCaskill-Stevens, W., Bandos, H., Blakeslee, S.B.; Holmberg, C. (2019). Understanding Decision-Making about Breast Cancer Prevention in Action: The Intersection of Perceived Risk, Perceived Control, and Social Context: NRG Oncology/NSABP DMP-1. Medical decision making: an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making, 39(3), 217-227. doi: 10.1177/0272989X19827258.

• Gunn, C., Bokhour, B., Parker, V. A., Blakeslee, S., Bandos, H., & Holmberg, C. (2019). Exploring Explanatory Models of Risk in Breast Cancer Risk Counseling Discussions: NSABP DMP-1. Cancer Nursing, 42(1). doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000517.

• Jaehn, P., Kaucher, S., Pikalova, L.V., Mazeina, S., Kajüter, H., Becher, H., Valkov, M., Winkler, V. (2019). A cross-national perspective of migration and cancer: incidence of five major cancer types among resettlers from the former Soviet Union in Germany and ethnic Germans in Russia. BMC Cancer, 19, 869. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6058-6.

• Kalender, U., Holmberg, C. (2019). Courtesy work: Care practices for quality assurance in a cohort study. Social Studies of Science, 49(4), 583-604. doi: 10.1177/0306312719863139.

• Mena E., Bolte G., ADVANCE GENDER Study Group (2019). Intersectionality-based quantitative health research and sex/gender sensitivity: a scoping review. Int J Equity Health, 18(1):199, doi: 10.1186/s12939-019-1098-8.

• Pöge, K., Rommel, A., Mena, E., Holmberg, C., Saß, A., Bolte, G. (2019). AdvanceGender – Verbundprojekt für eine geschlechtersensible und intersektionale Forschung und Gesundheitsberichterstattung. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, doi:10.1007/s00103-018-2855-3.

• Samimi, G., Heckman-Stoddard, B.M., Holmberg, C., Tennant, B., Sheppard, B.B., Coa, K.I., Kay, S.S., Ford, L.G., Szabo, E., Minasian, L.M. (2019). Cancer Prevention in Primary Care: Perception of Importance, Recognition of Risk Factors and Prescribing Behaviors. Am J Med. 2019 pii: S0002-9343(19)31095-2, doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.11.017.

• Stöckigt, B., Besch, F., Jeserich, F., Holmberg, C., Witt, C.M., Teut, M. (2019). Die Heiler-Klienten-Beziehung. In M. Teut, M. Dinges und R. Jütte (Herausg.) Religiöse Heiler im medizinischen Pluralismus in Deutschland (pp.73-86) Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

• Tebest, R., Bergholz, A., Stock, S. (2019). Inanspruchnahme von Versorgungsleistungen des deutschen Gesundheitssystems. In Haring R. (Ed.): Gesundheitswissenschaften. Springer, S. 547-559.

• Teut, M., Besch, F., Jeserich, F., Holmberg, C., Witt, C.M., Stöckigt, B. (2019). Spirituelle Heilbehandlungen. Wirkkonzepte und subjective Therapieerfahrungen. In M. Teut, M. Dinges und R. Jütte (Herausg.) Religiöse Heiler im medizinischen Pluralismus in Deutschland (pp.53-72) Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

2018

• Blödt, S., Kaiser, M., Adam, Y., Adami, S., Schultze, M., Müller-Nordhorn, J., & Holmberg, C. (2018). Understanding the role of health information in patients’ experiences: secondary analysis of qualitative narrative interviews with people diagnosed with cancer in Germany. BMJ Open, 8, e019576. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019576.

• Cho, A.B.*, Jaehn, P.*, Holleczek, B., Becher, H., Winkler, V. (2018). Stage of cancer diagnoses among migrants from the former Soviet Union in comparison to the German population – are diagnoses among migrants delayed? BMC Public Health, 18(1),148. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5046-0 (* equal contribution).

• Domanska, O. M., Firnges, C., Bollweg, T. M., Sørensen, K., Holmberg, C., Jordan, S. (2018). Do adolescents understand the items of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) – German version? Findings from cognitive interviews of the project “Measurement of Health Literacy Among Adolescents” (MOHLAA) in Germany. Archives of Public Health, 76:46. doi:10.1186/s13690-018-0276-2.

• Gabrysch, S., Jaehn, P. (2018). Commentary: Germany must invest in its global health academic workforce. The Lancet, 391(10121), 656-657. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)30247-2.

• Hansen, S.L., Holetzek, T., Heyder, C., Wiesemann, C. (2018). Stakeholder-Beteiligung in der klinischen Forschung: eine ethische Analyse. Ethik in der Medizin, 30(4), 289-305. doi: 10.1007/s00481-018-0487-7.

• Holmberg, C. (2018). What’s in a name? Anecdotes, Experience, and the Meaning of Stories. In in Lucius-Hoene, G., et al (Eds), Illness Narratives in Practice: Potentials and Challenges of Using Narratives in Health-related Contexts. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

• Holmberg, C., Muckelbauer, R., Sarganas, G., Braun, V., Heintze, C., Dini, L., Müller-Nordhorn, J. (2018). Primärprävention in der Allgemeinarztpraxis: Eine Befragung. Gesundheitswesen, 80(5), 465-470. doi: 10.1055/s-0042-113601.

• Kendel, F., Otto, I., Engler, J., Schrader, M., & Holmberg, C. (2018). Leben mit einem lokal begrenzten Prostatakarzinom – Entscheidungsfindung und Krankheitsverarbeitung. Psychotherapie – Psychosomatik – Medizinische Psyhologie (EFirst). doi: 10.1055/s-0043-122880.

• Lucius-Hoene, G., Holmberg, C., Meyer, T., (Eds.) (2018). Illness Narratives in Practice: Potentials and Challenges of Using Narratives in Health-related Contexts. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

• Merz, S., Bruni, T., Gadebusch Bondio, M. (2018). Diagnose-Apps: wenig Evidenz, Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 115 (12): A-522/B-454/C454.

• Merz, S., Williams, R. (2018). ‘We all have a responsibility to each other’: valuing racialised bodies in the neoliberal bioeconomy. New Political Economy, 23(5), 560-573.

• Starker, A., Buttmann-Schweiger, N., Krause, L., Barnes, B., Kraywinkel, K., Holmberg, C. (2018). Krebsfrüherkennungsuntersuchungen in Deutschland: Angebot und Inanspruchnahme. Bundesgesundheitsblatt – Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz, 61, 1491-1499. doi: 10.1007/s00103-018-2842-8.

• Stritter, W., Rutert B., Längler, A., Eggert, A., Holmberg, C., Seifert, G. (2018). Integrative Care for Children with Cancer Project Design for the Development of an Integrative Care Programme for Use in Paediatric Oncology. Complement Ther Med. 41, 247-251. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.10.005.

2017

• Blakeslee, S.B., McCaskill-Stevens, W., Parker, P.A., Gunn, C.M., Bandos, H., Bevers, T. B., Battaglia, T. A., Fagerlin, A., Müller-Nordhorn, J., & Holmberg, C. (2017). Deciding on breast cancer risk reduction: The role of counseling in individual decision-making – A qualitative study. Patient Education and Counseling, 100(11), 2346-2354. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.06.033.

• Breuning, M., Lucius-Hoene, G., Burbaum, C., Himmel, W., Bengel, J. (2017). Subjektive Krankheitserfahrungen und Patientenorientierung. Das Website-Projekt DIPEx Germany. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz, 60(4), 453-461.

• Brandner, S., Stritter, W., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Fotopoulou, C., Sehouli, J., & Holmberg, C. (2017). Taking Responsibility: Ovarian Cancer Patients’ Perspectives on Delayed Healthcare Seeking. Anthropology in Action, 24(3), 41-48. doi: 10.3167/aia.2017.240107.

• Engler, J., Guthlin, C., Dahlhaus, A., Kojima, E., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Weissbach, L., &[nbsp]Holmberg, C. (2017). Physician cooperation in outpatient cancer care. An amplified secondary analysis of qualitative interview data. European Journal of Cancer Care, 26(6), e12675. doi: 10.1111/ecc.12675.

• Engler, J., Kone, I., Holmberg, C., Baumann, W., Siebenhofer, A., & Guthlin, C. (2017). Oncologists' views on the importance of general practitioners for cancer patients: a qualitative interview study from Germany. Family Practice. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmx044.

• Giesler, J. M., Keller, B., Repke, T., Leonhart, R., Weis, J., Rieckmann, N., Muckelbauer, R., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Lucius-Hoene, G., & Holmberg, C. (2017). Effect of a Website that Presents Patients’ Experiences on Self-Efficacy and Patient Competence of Colorectal Cancer Patients - Results of a web-based randomized-controlled trial (DIPExRCT). Journal for Medical Internet Research, 19(10), e334. doi: 10.2196/jmir.7639.

• Gunn, C., Bokhour, B., Parker, V. A., Blakeslee, S., Bandos, H., & Holmberg, C. (2017). Exploring Explanatory Models of Risk in Breast Cancer Risk Counseling Discussions: NSABP DMP-1. Cancer Nursing, 42(1), 3-11. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000517.

• Holmberg, C., Blume, S., Greenough, P. (Eds.) (2017). The Politics of Vaccination: A Global History. Society for the Social History of Medicine Series. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

• Holmberg, C., Bandos, H., Fagerlin, A., Bevers, T. B., Battaglia, T. A., Wickerham, D. L., & McCaskill-Stevens, W. J. (2017). NRG Oncology/National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Decision-Making Project-1 Results: Decision Making in Breast Cancer Risk Reduction. Cancer Prevention Research, 10(11), 625-634. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.capr-17-0076.

• Jaehn, P., Inhoffen, J., Scheer, J., Streicher, F., Gesine Huhn, A., Lance, C. (2017). [Possibilities for Universities to Influence Global Pricing of Medicines]. Gesundheitswesen, 79(7), 530-534. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-113249.

• Seanehia, J., Treibich, C., Holmberg, C., Müller-Nordhorn, J., Casin, V., Raude, J., & Mueller, J.E. (2017). Quantifying population preferences around vaccination against severe but rare diseases: A conjoint analysis among French university students, 2016. Vaccine, 35(20), 2676-2684.   doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.086.

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CoronaCare - An ethnographic study of the risks to and potentialities for social health during the Corona crisis

Government public health measures, namely social distancing, mandatory mask wearing, and the prohibition of large gatherings of people, have significantly slowed the spread of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. These sweeping measures have, however, also fundamentally altered social life and as such they have serious implications for "social health." Social health understands health to be fundamentally social, that is sustained in and through everyday social contacts in communities, social networks, and families. It highlights the importance of community and togetherness on our physical health and psychological well-being. CoronaCare is an ethnographic study which will longitudinally examine the impact of policy and community interventions on social health in Germany. Ultimately, CoronaCare will derive empirically informed strategies and recommendations for communities and individuals to maintain social health in future pandemics.

Project duration: 2020-21

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Germany)

Cooperation partner: Institut of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg

For further information click here.

CoronaPflege – Psychosocial stress of caregivers in Brandenburg nursing homes during the Corona crisis

Nursing staff, especially those in geriatric care, face diverse and far-reaching physical, psychological and emotional stresses in their day-to-day work. Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, such stresses are likely to be even more noticeable. Particularly in the state of Brandenburg, where the need for nursing staff will continue to increase in the future due to demographic developments, it is of central importance to identify such stress factors in order to be able to improve employment conditions in nursing. Therefore, the question arises which factors contribute most to the psychosocial stress of nursing staff in Brandenburg's elderly care facilities during the Corona crisis.

The CoronaPflege project addresses this question with the help of quantitative and qualitative research elements. The quantitative part is a one-time anonymous questionnaire survey, which is currently being conducted in four regions. In addition to socio-demographic information and questions about the respective care facility, the questionnaire particularly includes questions about current psychosocial stress at work, the impact of the Corona crisis on various aspects of professional and private life, and stress. In addition, interviews will be conducted with some volunteers to shed more light on the impact of the Corona crisis on the reality of life and the everyday professional life of caregivers.

DIPEx - Database of Individual Patients' Experiences

The experience of other affected persons is of main importance in coping with illness. However, not much is known about ways in which scientifically investigated and publically available narratives of individual illness are used. One aim of DIPEx Oncology was to make such illness-related experiences of patients with prostate, breast and colorectal cancer available at krankheitserfahrungen.de, and to evaluate this service with a special focus on strengthening patient competence (Giesler et al. 2017). Interview data are further analysed, e.g. in regard to cancer patients’ information needs (Blödt et al. 2018).

• Federal Ministry of Health (National Cancer Plan)

• Krebsallianz (https://www.krebsallianz.de)

• DIPEx Germany

• University of Freiburg

• Joachim Weis (University of Freiburg, Tumor Biology Clinic)

• Juergen M. Giesler (Unversity of Freiburg, Institute of Medical Biometrics and Statistics)

• Psychoonkology (Comprehensive Cancer Center, Charité)

• Interdisciplinary Breast Center (Charité)

• Interdisciplinary Prostate Center (IPZ) (Charité)

• Stiftung Männergesundheit – Men’s Health Foundation

• Blödt S, Kaiser M, Adam Y et al: Understanding the role of health information in patients’ experiences: secondary analysis of qualitative narrative interviews with people diagnosed with cancer in Germany. BMJ Open

• Giesler JM, Keller B, Repke T, Leonhart R, Weis J, Muckelbauer R, Rieckmann N, Müller-Nordhorn J, Lucius-Hoene G, Holmberg C: Effect of a Website That Presents Patients’ Experiences on Self-Efficacy and Patient Competence of Colorectal Cancer Patients: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR

• Lucius-Hoene G, Holmberg C, Meyer T (Eds.): Illness Narratives in Practice: Potentials and Challenges of Using Narratives in Health-related Contexts. 2018. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

KaViB - Cardiological Care in Brandenburg

Despite a relatively good supply situation of cardiologists and general practitioners, the federal state of Brandenburg shows a high disease burden and mortality rate for cardiovascular diseases in comparison to other states. The research project KaViB investigates how the overall cardiological care infrastructure in the field of cardiovascular diseases is structured. It therefore makes use of a mixed-methods-approach that on the one hand maps all relevant care facilities and investigates how these might be related to hospitalization rates of selected cardiovascular diseases or risk factors in the elderly. The project also attempts to investigate to what extent these hospitalizations might be related to factors of rurality. The qualitative part of the research project will investigate how patients with cardiovascular diseases or risk factors shape their health care. In doing so, a lifeworld perspective will be taken, which wants to understand the subjective design as holistically as possible. Finally, in a third step, it will be examined how existing care infrastructures are used and to what extent informal aspects such as social networks, neighborhoods, etc. also play a role.

NAVICARE – Network to strengthen patient-oriented health services research

Germany’s healthcare system is highly specialized and at the same time extremely fragmented. This is a challenge specifically to chronically ill and multimorbid patients. Innovative care models may serve to remove existing barriers and bridge resulting supply gaps. So-called patient navigators constitute a possible approach already employed in countries such as the United States. Navigators are specially trained to accompany and support patients even beyond the limits of the usual care structures and thus facilitate “navigation” within a fragmented care system.

The NAVICARE network combines the expertise and methodological competences of various project partners and  includes stakeholders and patient representatives. Apart from research and networking, the project objectives are to improve training in health services research and to promote of young researchers. The Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the project site, with Prof. Holmberg as one of the co-applicants.

Project duration: 2017-2020

Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

SGB-REHA: Cross-sectoral gerontopsychiatric treatment and rehabilitation in nursing homes

The number of people in need for care in Germany will continue to grow in the following years. The risk for older people to stay in nursing homes long-term is especially high after hospitalization. The project SGB-REHA regionally implements and evaluates a cross-sectoral multiprofessional rehabilitation concept for older people in long-term care facilities.

In a qualitative pilot study, an innovation for therapeutic care with rehabilitative elements (Haus Ruhrgarten, Mühlheim) was analyzed and a potential best practice model developed. Central elements of the concept are, i.a., individual planning and monitoring of rehabilitative measures, therapeutic care provided by nurses, training for staff, and an extended therapy offer. Fundamental principle is the interdisciplinarity of nursing, medicine, pharmacy, therapy, and social work. The therapeutic-rehabilitative care measures aim at improving residents’ competences in activities of daily living, cognitive capacities, and quality of life, and even a return to their own homes. Further goals are the reduction of medication, hospital admissions, and treatment costs, and an improved quality of life for relatives and work satisfaction for staff members.

Using a stepped-wedge design in a randomized controlled study, the implementation of this innovative concept will be tested with residents over 65 years in twelve nursing homes in rural and urban areas of Western Germany. Quantitative assessments on the interventions effectiveness are accompanied by an economic evaluation. The institute of social medicine and epidemiology is responsible for the qualitative evaluation of effects from the perspective of residents and their relatives as well as staff members, and the intervention process evaluation by conducting interviews and participant observations.

Sponsor: Innovationsfonds des Gemeinsamen Bundesausschusses

Project duration: 2022-2026

Consortium: AOK Rheinland / Hamburg (head of consortium), Deutsche Akademie für Gerontopsychiatrie und -psychotherapie e. V., Evangelische Altenhilfe Mülheim gGmbH, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg CAMPUS GmbH, Universität Potsdam

Decision-Making in Patients at Risk for Breast Cancer

In the US tamoxifen and raloxifene, two selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), are approved for breast cancer risk reduction since both SERMs have shown to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer by 50%. The study´s primary aim was to describe the influence of social, environmental and psychological factors (sociality of medication intake, life-events, understanding of prevention, clinical situation) on the decision of women at risk for breast cancer for using chemoprevention agents (Holmberg et al. 2017). Secondary aims are to understand the implications of and influences on decision making that a diagnosis of 'being at risk for breast cancer' has for women, to develop a survey that identifies the factors that influence the decision-making process of women at high risk of breast cancer who are considering chemoprevention, and to understand, what factors hinder women from taking chemoprevention for breast cancer (e.g. Blakeslee et al 2017; Gunn et al 2017).

• National Cancer Institute

• NRG Oncology

• MD Anderson Cancer Center (Division of Cancer Medicine: Dr. Therese Bevers)

• Boston University Medical Center (Center of Excellence in Women’s Health: Tracy Battaglia)

• University of Utah (Department of Population Health Sciences: Angela Fagerlin)

• Holmberg C et al, NRG Oncology/National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Decision-Making Project-1 Results: Decision Making in Breast Cancer Risk Reduction.2017, Journal for Cancer Prevention

• Blakeslee S et al, Deciding on breast cancer risk reduction: The role of counselling in individual decision-making – A qualitative study. PEC-Journal