As part of the Gut-Leben project, the publication Umsetzung der Gesundheitlichen Versorgungsplanung in deutschen Pflegeheimen - Ergebnisse einer Fokusgruppenstudie mit Gesprächsbegleitenden has been published.

The aim of the study was to investigate which conditions favour or hinder the introduction of the health care planning (HCP) counselling service. Care facilities have the option of offering end-of-life care planning counselling and settling the costs via statutory public health insurance. 24 counsellors took part in four focus groups. The key findings show that structural framework conditions, co-operation within the facility and with external partners, and financing have a particular influence on the implementation of GVP. A basic palliative attitude and close cooperation between all those involved proved to be key prerequisites.

The publication can be downloaded free of charge via the following link: https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2776-8843

Together with Diakonie Hessen, project staff from the Gut-Leben project have recorded a podcast. The podcast is about the presentation of the project results and the relevance of health care planning (HCP) for care homes. The podcast will be released at the beginning of 2026 and will help to disseminate the project results and raise awareness of the GVP service.

As part of the Gut-Leben project, the publication Advance care planning in German nursing homes from the perspective of the facilitators: A focus group study has been published. The publication presents the content of the focus groups conducted as part of the project. The focus groups with facilitators who provide counselling on health care planning (GVP) focus on their experiences of implementing GVP in nursing homes.

The results indicate that GVP consultations are very individual and vary depending on the resident. However, there is a roughly standardised procedure for the process, which, like the GVP documents, can be very complex. The GVP offer must be advertised more intensively in order to increase awareness of the offer, reduce inhibitions and simplify the initiation of counselling processes.

The publication can be accessed free of charge via the following link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-025-01914-z

The first summer school of the HEARAZ Research Training Group took place from 3 to 5 September 2025 at the Ostfriesen-Hof in Leer. During the three-day event, the participants exchanged ideas on content and internal developments and discussed the future direction of the Research Training Group. A central point of the programme was the poster presentation by the doctoral students, who presented their research work and received constructive feedback from the PIs. The Summer School was rounded off with an evening together in an informal atmosphere, which was ideal for networking.

On 18 July 2025, four doctoral students from the HEARAZ Research Training Group took part in the 1st Oldenburg Open Science Conference. One doctoral candidate presented a preregistered scoping review protocol on the role of hearing assistance technologies for the social health and participation of people with support needs as part of a poster session. The conference provided participants with valuable input on open science practices such as preregistration and transparency as well as an opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange on their implementation in health and care research.

The Gut-Leben project, which was originally funded by the Innovation Fund until the end of June, has been extended by nine months. Launched on 1 July 2022, the aim of the planned three-year project was to improve healthcare for people in the last phase of their lives in nursing homes. To this end, the implementation to date of the options for health care planning for the last phase of life in the care home setting, which were created by law in 2018, was analysed and proposals for practical further development were developed. The project will be extended until 31 March 2026, enabling the further production and publication of publications.

The 12th and final meeting of the Gut-Leben advisory board took place in May 2025. The advisory board supported the Gut-Leben project throughout the entire duration of the project and met approximately every three months. Among other things, survey instruments were developed at the meetings and project results were categorised and interpreted in the practical context. In this way, practice and science were closely interlinked. The project team would like to thank the members of the advisory board for their valuable support and excellent cooperation.

Five members of the junior research group Rehabilitation Research were represented at the Rehabilitation Science Colloquium in Nuremberg from 18 to 20 March 2025. Under the congress motto "Man meets machine - utilising digital opportunities in prevention and rehabilitation" , the focus was on the question of how participation services can be further developed through digital services, spatial barriers removed and access simplified. The application, possibilities and limitations of artificial intelligence were also addressed and discussed in various contributions. Carolin Baur and Sanny Witt gave presentations and Elena Brushinski and Anna Völkel presented posters on their project. Anna Levke Brütt also took part in an innovation workshop and a discussion forum.

The last interview in the SEMPRE project was conducted for the evaluation. In individual interviews, 10 participants were asked about their satisfaction and suggestions for improvement in the context of the Psychosomatic Rehabilitation Compass (PRK). In addition, 20 individual interviews were conducted with stakeholders (network partners, clinics) and one focus group interview with the pilots, in which the implementation of the Rehakompass was discussed. The next step is to analyse the 30 individual interviews and one focus group.

The 23rd German Congress for Health Services Research took place from 25 to 27 September under the motto "Implementation knowledge creates innovative care". The congress focussed on the exchange between the two disciplines of health services research and implementation science. In various formats, the stronger bundling of competences from health services research and implementation science and the beneficial changes in everyday care as well as in the healthcare system and how these can be realised more efficiently were discussed.

Junior research group leader PD Dr Anna Levke Brütt took over the Chair of several sessions. Dr Carolin Baur, Anna Reinhold and Anna Völkel gave presentations and Dr Elena Brushinski and Nadja Reeck presented the results of their projects in poster sessions.

An article on the quality and safety of care after implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has been published in the Journal of Evidence, Training and Quality in Healthcare, which can be downloaded here free of charge. It reports qualitative results from the CoLVAD project, for which individual interviews were conducted with 18 patients living with an LVAD. As part of the content analysis, 28 categories on care-relevant aspects were developed, which describe patient characteristics, carer characteristics, requirements and tasks in care, aspects of the physical environment, aspects of medical devices and technologies, aspects of the living environment and external environmental factors at a social and political level. Based on this, three central recommendations for action for care practice were derived.

The interviews in the Good Life project have started. In the interviews, residents, relatives, counsellors, care staff and other stakeholders describe the counselling services offered by Healthcare Planning from their point of view. The aim is to illuminate as many different perspectives as possible. The project team is receiving support from committed counsellors and care homes in Lower Saxony, who are helping to find volunteers to take part.

Five members of the Rehabilitation Research junior research group attended the Rehabilitation Science Colloquium in Bremen from 18 to 20 March 2024. Under the congress motto "Sustainability and participation: ecological - economic - social", the focus was on the question of how the three dimensions of sustainability can be meaningfully reconciled in the further development of future-proof participation strategies. Carolin Baur and Elena Brushinski gave presentations and Sanny Witt presented a poster on her project. In addition, Anna Levke Brütt moderated a session on "Update on medical rehabilitation for patients with post-COVID syndrome - what has proven successful, what needs to be improved?".

In regular meetings as part of a quality circle involving the Reha-Zentrum Oldenburg and the DRV Oldenburg-Bremen, qualitative and quantitative interim results are reported back and approaches for the further development of the post-COVID rehabilitation concept are discussed. The 1st quality circle was held at the Oldenburg rehabilitation centre in November. Initial impressions of the surveys carried out so far were exchanged and the next steps were discussed.

Six members of the junior research group Rehabilitation Research were represented at the German Congress for Health Services Research in Berlin from 4 to 6 October 2023. The motto of the congress was "Health-related health services research - the driving force behind evidence-based health policy". Elena Brushinski, Nadja Reeck and Anna Reinhold gave lectures and Carolin Baur and Anna Völkel presented posters on their end of projects. Anna Levke Brütt also took over the Chair and moderation of various sessions at the Patient:innentag.

The junior research group Rehabilitation Research was represented with a poster presentation and a lecture at the 37th annual conference of the European Society for Health Psychology. The international conference took place from 4 to 8 September in Bremen under the motto "Health Psychology for all: Equity, Inclusiveness and Transformation".

The project "Post-COVID Rehab: Post-COVID Rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Centre Oldenburg - Further Development and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Post-COVID Rehabilitation Concept", funded by the German Pension Insurance (DRV) Oldenburg-Bremen, started at the beginning of July.

The project uses a combined quantitative and qualitative (mixed-methods) evaluation to investigate the effectiveness and implementation of the post-COVID rehabilitation concept at the Reha-Zentrum Oldenburg. The primary target variable is subjective quality of life.

On 6 July 2023, the kick-off event for the 2nd project phase of the SeFallED fall project took place at the University of Oldenburg under the direction of Prof. Dr Tania Zieschang. Selected citizens were invited to discuss the topic of fall prevention. In addition to the project team, 29 citizens and experts in the field of fall prevention or senior citizen work from Oldenburg and the surrounding area took part.

The full text can be found on our homepage under the following link: https://uol.de/geriatrie/projekte/sefalled

On 18 April 2023, the results workshop of the BASE pilot study took place in the library hall of the University of Oldenburg. After the presentation of the initial key results of the pilot study and a short contribution on the current status of the development of the planned online platform, doctors from rehabilitation clinics, representatives of health insurance companies, social associations, the Federal Employment Agency, experts and employees of the DRV Oldenburg-Bremen and the University of Oldenburg discussed in small groups both current issues regarding the online platform and important future topics and visions relating to the topic of "Invitation to apply for rehabilitation".

New results from the ReHaFe project were recently published in the journal Die Rehabilitation. The aim of the study was to first identify relevant needs for action and research for psychosomatic and orthopaedic rehabilitation from the perspective of rehabilitation patients and staff and then to prioritise these. The identification was carried out through a written survey of former rehabilitation patients and employees, while two methods were used for prioritisation (prioritisation workshop and two-stage written Delphi survey). The top 10 fields of action and research questions were reported and discussed. Practical action is needed first and foremost in the implementation of holistic and individualised rehabilitation. Research questions on access to rehabilitation led the top 10 list of research needs. The development of treatment and solution strategies for the identified topics as well as the implementation of these strategies should be focussed on in the future.

The article was published Open Access and can be read here free of charge.

After conducting a total of twelve focus groups, we started the data analysis phase with our project advisory board. This initially took place in two separate teams - one consisting of two project employees and the other of two advisory board members - in order to then discuss the results in a joint meeting and reach a consensus. This approach enables a diverse interpretation of the results, as the advisory board members contribute additional perspectives through their personal fall experiences.

From 5 to 7 October, we were represented at the German Congress for Health Services Research in Potsdam by 7 members of the junior research group Rehabilitation Research. Under the motto "Health Services Research - Benefits for Clinical Practice. Potentials and perspectives", we listened to many interesting presentations and used the opportunity to exchange ideas with other scientists. Elise-Marie Dilger, Nadja Reeck and Anna Reinhold also gave presentations on their respective projects. Anna Levke Brütt took over the Chair and moderation of various sessions at the congress and thus contributed in many ways.

Under the motto "Opportunities and challenges for strengthening participation in working life", the first specialist conference for scientific support in the federal rehapro programme was held in September. At this event, the SEMPRE project was able to present and discuss the results of the first evaluation and revision phase in a presentation. We would like to thank you for the constructive exchange and the insights into the various rehapro projects by participating in the conference!

The Junior Research Group Rehabilitation Research took part in the open day at the Department of Health Services Research on 9 September 2022. Among other things, visitors had the opportunity to learn about the Department's ongoing research projects in short presentations. Mona Voigt-Barbarowicz presented the results of the PIKoG project, which is funded by the BMG and aims to improve professional health literacy, on behalf of our department. In addition, the staff from the other projects in our department were available to answer questions about our work.

The Gut-Leben - Gesundheitliche Versorgungsplanung für die letzte Lebensphase (according to § 132g SGB V) in nursing homes: Implementation to date, barriers and recommendations for further development project, funded by the Innovation Fund of the Joint Federal Committee, was launched at the beginning of July with a kick-off meeting in Bremen.

The Gut-Leben project aims to improve healthcare for people in the last phase of their lives in nursing homes. To this end, the implementation to date of the options for health care planning for the last phase of life in the care home setting created by law in 2018 is being analysed and proposals for practical further development are being developed.

We are starting to collect data for the qualitative sub-project of the SeFallED study. As part of the focus groups, we want to find out from people who have fallen and their relatives what needs and wishes older people have after a fall.

The second wave of the participant and rehabilitant survey in the SEMPRE project has begun. We are looking forward to the next two-year survey phase!

The BASE model project of the German Pension Insurance Oldenburg-Bremen, funded as part of the federal programme rehapro (Innovative Ways to Participate in Working Life), has been launched. It is aimed at insured persons who are ill and who are asked by their health insurance company or the employment agency to submit an application for rehabilitation. The aim is to improve the starting conditions for rehabilitation for these rehabilitants. Using a digital platform and rehab coaches, the aim is to remove barriers for these people individually, flexibly and in line with their needs before the rehabilitation programme. You can find more information about the project here.

An article with the participation of Michael Levelink and Anna Levke Brütt from the junior research group has been published in the journal Monitor Versorgungsforschung. It reports the results of a patient survey on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of non-COVID patients in Germany. These were also presented in a separate session as part of the Patient Day at the German Congress for Health Services Research 2021. Based on the participants' responses, 14 categories were developed using content analysis, which describe both positive and negative effects of the pandemic on healthcare provision, utilisation, healthcare requirements and their further development.

The journal is published open access and can be downloaded

here

As part of the final implementation phase of the ReHaFe project, strategy workshops will be held in the cooperating rehabilitation clinics of the German Pension Insurance Oldenburg-Bremen. Together with employees from the clinics, processing strategies will be developed for the needs for action in psychosomatic and orthopaedic rehabilitation identified in the project. The current care situation is analysed for selected fields of action. This is followed by a definition of what care should ideally look like. Specific goals are derived from this target state, for which concrete measures for implementation are then developed. Finally, the measures are set out in a timetable with specific responsibilities. The workshops have already been successfully carried out in two clinics.

The data collection for the ReHaFe project was completed in January 2022. After the results on the future need for action and research in orthopaedic and psychosomatic rehabilitation were already available in October 2021, the results of the evaluation survey are now also available. The project is therefore nearing completion.

The quantitative data collected in telephone interviews at two measurement points in the EIN-IMDE project are now available and will be analysed soon. The aim is to answer the question of whether the addition of subjective characteristics in the Behavioural Model of Health Services Use (Andersen) can better explain the utilisation behaviour of people with depressive disorders than established characteristics. Further qualitative interviews are currently being conducted with a sub-sample of the respondents who took part in both telephone interviews. As soon as the first results of the research project have been published, we will inform you on our project website.

Anja Gieseler is leaving the junior research group Rehab Research, in January 2022 Elena Brushinski will succeed her as a research assistant in the SEMPRE project.

The need for action and research for orthopaedic and psychosomatic rehabilitation identified by rehabilitants and rehabilitation staff was finally prioritised in autumn 2021. To this end, we held a presentation workshop and conducted a written Delphi survey in parallel with the two groups named above. The result was a top 10 list of the most relevant topics for orthopaedic and psychosomatic rehabilitation that should be addressed in future rehabilitation practice and research.

We start with the data collection for the qualitative study. Participants are interviewed about their experiences with the SEMPRE project.

A systematic review by the working group has been published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, in which factors influencing the quality of life of patients with a left ventricular assist device are identified. The review included 11 qualitative studies, which were analysed as part of a thematic synthesis. This is an open access publication, so the work is available here can be read and downloaded free of charge.

The SeFallED project has been launched in collaboration with the Department of Geriatrics. The aim of this study is to investigate the trajectories and needs of elderly patients after an index fall with presentation at the emergency centre without inpatient admission. As this group of people represents a high-risk group for further falls that has been little investigated to date, the aim of the study is to create a basis for the development of customised interventions for older people. You can find more information here.

In the SEMPRE project, recruitment of participants and counselling sessions for psychosomatic rehabilitation have begun. This also marks the start of data collection for the first study, a pre-post study.

A systematic review by the junior research group entitled "Priorities of patients, carers and health professionals for health research - a systematic review" was published in the journal Health Expectations. This is the first comprehensive comparison of the content of research priorities that were developed together with those affected by different health problems. The analysis included 331 priorities that were developed in 34 studies. Nine overarching topics were identified. The most prevalent topics relate to research on treatment options, patients and health systems. The results of the review can contribute to patient-centred research if researchers and funding organisations take them into account in their future work.
The article is available free of charge here.

In the research project "Multiple sclerosis - patient-orientated care in Lower Saxony (MS-PoV)", we are investigating the care situation of people with MS with medical aids. We are carrying out the project together with colleagues from Hannover Medical School, the German Multiple Sclerosis Society of Lower Saxony, AOK Lower Saxony and MS Forschungs- und Projektentwicklungs- gGmbH. More information on our project homepage.

Mona Voigt-Barbarowicz and Anna Levke Brütt from the junior research group Rehabilitation Research were able to publish an article entitled "The Agreement between Patients' and Healthcare Professionals' Assessment of Patients' Health Literacy-A Systematic Review" in the "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health" in March 2020. The systematic review describes and analyses the assessment of patient-related health literacy by patients and healthcare professionals and their agreement based on seven included studies. The literature search was conducted in November 2019 in the PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane Library databases.

The ReHaFe project has started! Within the project, the future need for action and research for orthopaedic and psychosomatic rehabilitation is being identified and prioritised together with rehabilitation patients and rehabilitation staff.