What is health services research? How does healthcare work and how do new therapies and treatment methods get into practice? Interested parties received answers to these and many other questions on 16 August 2024 at the "Open Day" in the Department of Health Services Research. Around 60 visitors accepted the invitation from Department Director Prof Mark Schweda and his colleagues to visit building V04 on the Haarentor campus. Throughout the afternoon, there was the opportunity to find out about the current status of research projects in the various departments and working groups. The programme was wide-ranging: In addition to lectures, quizzes, poster and photo exhibitions, guests were also able to visit the care and gait laboratory and try out a prototype of a measuring and training station for older people.
Robots, tripping hazards and other difficulties
In particular, the lectures by professors from the Department on topics such as "The house that makes you sick? - Recognising infection risks in hospitals digitally" by Prof. Antje Wulff, "No risk, no fun? How risk attitudes and health are connected" by Prof Lars Schwettmann or "Age-friendly cities: Oldenburg perspectives" by Prof Katrin Boerner were used by interested parties to find out more about the various topics. There was also plenty to touch and try out: employees from the robotic assistance systems group in the care laboratory showed how carers can be technically supported in order to reduce the physical strain in the profession. To do this, they use a robot specially programmed for this task, which helps, for example, to lift patients up in care beds. These tasks are simulated and analysed with the help of an android robot patient. In the gait laboratory, which is equipped with a special treadmill and technical equipment, staff in the geriatrics department can record the physical performance and individual gait safety of older people. Michel Hackbarth and Jessica Koschate-Storm presented the research on this topic at the open day. Visitors were able to try out the perturbation treadmill and experience for themselves the simulated disturbances when walking, such as sudden stops of the belt or a slightly swaying surface.
Understanding and utilising information about your own health
The "Self-assessment with digital support" organised by the junior research group "Nutrition and functionality in old age" was also about checking your own physical and mental training status through selected exercises. In combination with an app, the station also offers the opportunity to train in a targeted manner and optimise your own diet, for example by keeping a food diary. Those who wanted to get more physically active could try out the "Square Stepping Exercise" under supervision. This is a new evidence-based exercise from Japan that is designed to prevent falls and is reminiscent of an old children's game with jumping boxes on the street: on a mat with ten rows of four squares each, participants first perform simple, then increasingly difficult combinations of steps forwards, sideways and backwards. The aim is to increase the physical and mental fitness of senior citizens.
Between the individual stations and lectures, there was also the opportunity to get to know the Department's divisions in the form of poster, film and photo exhibitions. The comprehensive programme of events showed how the scientists at Oldenburg Health Services Research investigate everyday medical life in all its many facets, taking into account the patient's perspective and never losing sight of the big picture - optimising the functioning of the healthcare system.
About the Department of Health Services Research
Health services research is still a relatively young discipline at the University of Oldenburg - it was established as a second research focus alongside neurosensorics after the founding of the School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences in 2012. Since then, it has been characterised in particular by its interdisciplinary and specialist breadth. Its departments include Assistance Systems and Medical Technology, Outpatient Care and Pharmacoepidemiology, Ethics in Medicine, General Medicine, Geriatrics, Big Data in Medicine, Health Economics, Artificial Intelligence in Health, Nursing Science, Prevention and Rehabilitation Research. The Cross-Border Institute of Healthcare Systems and Prevention (CBI) and the Oldenburg Research Network for Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine (OFNI) are also part of the Department of Health Services Research. The Department now has around 100 employees, making it one of the largest research institutions in the field of Health Services Research in Germany. It has also had its own Master's degree programme in Health Services Research since 2021 .
(Petra Wilts)