Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology

At the Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology we strive to unpack the qualities of social relationships and specific social structures that shape people’s care realities and frame opportunities for good care. To realize this aim, we begin with a different point of departure namely the care recipients as an individual embedded in social networks and social structures in sharp contrast to the oft assumed decontextualized, autonomous individual. From this starting point we creatively interrogate how the provision of healthcare might be qualitatively and quantitatively transformed to better meet the needs of socially situated care recipients.

Our research program is structured along the continuum of basic research (understanding healthcare and society), health care services research (rendering local healthcare realities visible) and interventional or translational research (improving healthcare). Thematically, we are currently pursuing these goals in the thematic areas of aging and society, gender and health inequalities, global health, and illness narratives. As the institute develops we will expand these research foci.

In the medical-scientific curriculum, social medicine and epidemiology are anchored as central theoretical and methodological subjects at Brandenburg Medical School. In our teaching, we place equal importance on the study of empirical research methods as we do on the critical evaluation of existing knowledge. In particular, we encourage students to develop an in-depth understanding of the social and institutional determinants of health and illness.

For more details (in German) see here.