Institut für Allgemeinmedizin
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Background:
Currently, health care systems worldwide are challenged with providing care to an increasing number of migrants, refugees, and displaced persons. In this article, we report on disease burden and drug prescription patterns in a large refugee cohort in Germany.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study of anonymized medical records including demographic data, diagnoses, and drug prescriptions in two refugee reception centres between 2015 and 2019. Refugees and migrants received medical assistance exclusively through the on-site clinics. Thus, this study represents all medical visits of the housed residents.
Results:
In total, n = 15531 diagnoses from n = 4858 patients in a cohort of n = 10431 accommodated refugees were recorded. N = 11898 medications were prescribed. Overall, 29.8% of all refugees sought medical attention. Half of the patients were female (49.6%), the average age was 23.8 years (SD [standard deviation] 17.0, min 0, max 81), and 41.5% were minors (<18 years). Most patients had Middle Eastern or Northern African origin (63.9%). The largest proportion of diagnoses belonged to the ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) category "R" (miscellaneous, 33.5%), followed by diseases of the respiratory system (category "J", 16.5%), or the musculoskeletal system (category "M", 7.1%). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were most frequently prescribed.
Conclusions:
This analysis in two large refugee centres in Germany shows that about one third of refugees seek medical attention upon initial arrival. Complaints are manifold, with a high prevalence of respiratory infections.
Anxiolytic drugs often have sedative effects that impair the ability to drive. Our double-blind, randomized crossover trial investigated the effect of Silexan, a non-sedating, anxiolytic herbal medicinal product, on driving performance in healthy volunteers. Part 1 aimed at demonstrating equivalence between 80 mg/d Silexan and placebo. Part 2 was performed to demonstrate superiority of 160 and 320 mg Silexan over 1 mg lorazepam and included a placebo arm for assay sensitivity. Driving performance was assessed in a validated, alcohol-calibrated simulator test. The primary outcome was the standard deviation of the lane position (SDLP). Secondary outcomes included driving errors and sleepiness. Fifty and 25 subjects were randomized in Parts 1 and 2, respectively. In Part 1, Silexan 80 mg was confirmed to be equivalent to placebo after single administration (equivalence range: δ = ±2 cm). The 95% confidence interval (CI) for the SDLP marginal mean value difference Silexan–placebo for single administration was −1.43; +1.38 and thus similar to the 95% CI of −1.45; +0.79 cm for 7 days’ multiple dosing. In Part 2, 95% CIs for SDLP marginal mean value differences to lorazepam were −8.58; −5.42 cm for Silexan 160 mg and −8.65; −5.45 cm for 320 mg (p < 0.001). Confirmatory results were supported by secondary outcomes, where results for Silexan were comparable to placebo and more favorable than for lorazepam. The study demonstrates that single doses of up to 320 mg Silexan and multiple doses of 80 mg/d have no adverse effect on driving performance.
HausärztInnen sind für die Primärversorgung von PatientInnen mit COVID-19 zuständig. Zum Zeitpunkt der Planung und Durchführung dieser Studie ließen sie kaum Untersuchungen zu den Erfahrungen von HausärztInnen während der ersten Pandemiewelle finden. Das Ziel der Arbeit war, durch eine qualitative Datenerhebung Einblicke zu gewinnen, wie HausärztInnen die ersten Monate der COVID-19-Pandemie erlebt haben. Die Untersuchung war Teil einer übergeordneten Querschnittsstudie, in der Erhebungen mit strukturierten Fragebögen und qualitativen Befragungen stattfanden. Für den qualitativen Abschnitt wurden semistrukturierte Interviews mit 22 HausärztInnen aus vier Bundesländern durchgeführt. Die Einladung zur Teilnahme erfolgte mit der Aussendung von Fragebögen im Rahmen der quantitativen Datenerhebung. Die Daten wurden anhand der inhaltlich strukturierenden qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse nach Kuckartz ausgewertet. In der Studie zeigte sich, dass HausärztInnen ihr Praxismanagement und ihre PatientInnenversorgung in der Pandemie rasch umstrukturieren mussten. Mangel an Schutzmaterialien, die Trennung infektiöser PatientInnen und schnell wechselnde Vorgaben wurden als große Herausforderungen identifiziert. In den Interviews wurden außerdem Bedenken über die Folgen der sozialen Distanzierung auf die therapeutische Beziehung geäußert. Teamarbeit in der Praxis und kollegialer Austausch in Gemeinschaftspraxen stellten besonders wichtige Faktoren dar, um die zahlreichen Herausforderungen zu überwinden. Die Teilnehmenden nahmen sich selbst als Vorbilder mit einer hohen Verantwortung für die Gesundheit ihrer PatientInnen wahr.. Sie betonten die Relevanz von klaren und konsistenten Regelungen durch den öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienst sowie von zuverlässigen Informationen. Um die hausärztliche Versorgung in zukünftigen Pandemien zu unterstützen, sollten bürokratische Hürden so weit wie möglich reduziert und verständliche Informationen bereitgestellt werden. Da HausärztInnen eine zentrale Rolle in der Beratung und Therapie von PatientInnen mit COVID-19 spielten, erscheint deren konsistente Einbeziehung in Entscheidungsprozesse durch Institutionen des öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes von besonderer Wichtigkeit.
Background
Research on the needs of people with disability is scarce, which promotes inadequate programs. Community Based Inclusive Development interventions aim to promote rights but demand a high level of community participation. This study aimed to identify prioritized needs as well as lessons learned for successful project implementation in different Latin American communities.
Methods
This study was based on a Community Based Inclusive Development project conducted from 2018 to 2021 led by a Columbian team in Columbia, Brazil and Bolivia. Within a sequential mixed methods design, we first retrospectively analyzed the project baseline data and then conducted Focus Group Discussions, together with ratings of community participation levels. Quantitative descriptive and between group analysis of the baseline survey were used to identify and compare sociodemographic characteristics and prioritized needs of participating communities. We conducted qualitative thematic analysis on Focus Group Discussions, using deductive main categories for triangulation: 1) prioritized needs and 2) lessons learned, with subcategories project impact, facilitators, barriers and community participation. Community participation was assessed via spidergrams. Key findings were compared with triangulation protocols.
Results
A total of 348 people with disability from 6 urban settings participated in the baseline survey, with a mean age of 37.6 years (SD 23.8). Out of these, 18 participated within the four Focus Group Discussions. Less than half of the survey participants were able to read and calculate (42.0%) and reported knowledge on health care routes (46.0%). Unemployment (87.9%) and inadequate housing (57.8%) were other prioritized needs across countries. Focus Group Discussions revealed needs within health, education, livelihood, social and empowerment domains.
Participants highlighted positive project impact in work inclusion, self-esteem and ability for self-advocacy. Facilitators included individual leadership, community networks and previous reputation of participating organizations. Barriers against successful project implementation were inadequate contextualization, lack of resources and on-site support, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall level of community participation was high (mean score 4.0/5) with lower levels in Brazil (3.8/5) and Bolivia (3.2/5).
Conclusion
People with disability still face significant needs. Community Based Inclusive Development can initiate positive changes, but adequate contextualization and on-site support should be assured.
Darf es etwas mehr sein? Neuroenhancement im Studium – eine Befragung an Würzburger Hochschulen
(2024)
Neuroenhancement (NE) bezeichnet die Einnahme psychotroper Substanzen mit dem Ziel der geistigen Leistungssteigerung oder Beruhigung. NE wird durch gesunde Perso- nen genutzt. Es besteht somit keine Indikation zur Einnahme psychotroper Wirkstoffe. Zum NE genutzte Substanzen sind z.B. Koffeintabletten, verschreibungspflichtige Medi- kamente oder illegale Substanzen. Die bisherige Forschung findet Hinweise auf einen Zusammenhang zwischen NE und ADHS-Symptomen, einigen Aspekten psychischer Gesundheit, sowie Substanzkonsum. Bisher gibt es keine Forschung zu NE am Hoch- schulstandort Würzburg.
Es wurde eine anonyme online Querschnittsbefragung im ersten Quartal 2021 durchge- führt. Eingeladen waren 5600 Studierende der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg und der Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Würzburg Schweinfurt. Der Frage- bogen bestand aus 53 Items und enthielt u. a. die folgenden validierten Messinstrumente: ASRS, PSS-10, PHQ-4 und AUDIT-C.
Die Response Rate lag bei 18% (n = 1011). Das Wissen über NE war weit unter den Stu- dierenden verbreitet. Die Prävalenz für Neuroenhancement im Studium lag bei 12.7%. Die drei meistgenannten Substanzen waren Koffeintabletten (6.6%), Cannabis (4.5%) und Methylphenidat (4.3%). Häufigster Anlass für NE war die Prüfungsvorbereitung. Es zeigten sich deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den Fachbereichen, u.a. hinsichtlich der Prävalenz von NE. ADHS-Symptomen, Stress, Ängstlichkeit, und Depressivität waren positiv mit NE assoziiert. Ein stärkerer Effekt ergab sich für den Zusammenhang zwi- schen NE und riskanten Alkoholkonsum bzw. Tabakkonsum. Diese Ergebnisse wurden durch eine binomial logistische Regression bestätigt.
Die konsumierten Substanzen, das Wissen über NE, die Prävalenz von NE und die Gründe für dessen Nutzung fügen sich nahtlos in die bisherige Forschung ein. Auch die Assoziation zwischen ADHS-Symptomen, Stress, Ängstlichkeit, Depressivität, riskan- tem Alkoholkonsum und Tabakkonsum bestätigt bisherige Forschungsergebnisse.
Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass rund ein Zehntel der Studierenden NE bereits genutzt haben. In Anbetracht der gesundheitlichen Gefahren, die mit NE einhergehen ist die Etab- lierung bzw. der Ausbau von Aufklärung-, Beratungs- und Hilfsangeboten für Studie- rende anzustreben sowie weitere Forschung zum Thema indiziert.
Aim: The climate and ecological crises are considered fundamental threats to human health. Healthcare workers in general and doctors in particular can contribute as change agents in mitigation and adaptation. Planetary health education (PHE) aims to harness this potential. This study explores perspectives among stakeholders involved in PHE at German medical schools on the characteristics of high-quality PHE and compares them to existing PHE frameworks.
Methods: In 2021, we conducted a qualitative interview study with stakeholders from German medical schools involved in PHE. Three different groups were eligible: faculty members, medical students actively involved in PHE, and study deans of medical schools. Recruitment was performed through national PHE networks and snowball sampling. Thematic qualitative text analysis according to Kuckartz was used for the analysis. Results were systematically compared to three existing PHE frameworks.
Results: A total of 20 participants (13 female) from 15 different medical schools were interviewed. Participants covered a wide range of professional backgrounds and experience in PHE education. The analysis revealed ten key themes: (1) Complexity and systems thinking, (2) inter- and transdisciplinarity, (3) ethical dimension, (4) responsibility of health professionals, (5) transformative competencies including practical skills, (6) space for reflection and resilience building, (7) special role of students, (8) need for curricular integration, (9) innovative and proven didactic methods, and (10) education as a driver of innovation. Six of our themes showed substantial overlap with existing PHE frameworks. Two of our themes were only mentioned in one of the frameworks, and two others were not explicitly mentioned. Few important elements of the frameworks did not emerge from our data.
Conclusions: In the light of increased attention regarding the connections of the climate and ecological crises and health, our results can be useful for anyone working toward the integration of planetary health into medical schools' and any health professions' curricula and should be considered when designing and implementing new educational activities.
Stress experiences of healthcare assistants in family practice at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
(2023)
Background: At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, healthcare assistants in general practices were confronted with numerous new challenges. The aim of the study was to investigate the stress factors of healthcare assistants in March/April 2020 as well as in the further course of the pandemic in 2020.
Methods: From August to December 2020, 6,300 randomly selected healthcare assistants in four German states were invited to participate in the study. We performed a mixed methods design using semi-structured telephone interviews and a cross-sectional survey with quantitative and open questions. The feeling of psychological burden was assessed on a 6-point likert-scale. We defined stress factors and categorized them in patient, non-patient and organizational stress factors. The results of the three data sets were compared within a triangulation protocol.
Results: One thousand two hundred seventy-four surveys were analyzed and 28 interviews with 34 healthcare assistants were conducted. Of the participants, 29.5% reported experiences of a very high or high feeling of psychological burden in March/April 2020. Worries about the patients’ health and an uncertainty around the new disease were among the patient-related stress factors. Non-patient-related stress factors were problems with the compatibility of work and family, and the fear of infecting relatives with COVID-19. Organizational efforts and dissatisfaction with governmental pandemic management were reported as organizational stress factors. Support from the employer and team cohesion were considered as important resources.
Discussion: It is necessary to reduce stress among healthcare assistants by improving their working conditions and to strengthen their resilience to ensure primary healthcare delivery in future health crises.
Objectives
To evaluate whether a multimodal intervention in general practice reduces the proportion of second line antibiotic prescriptions and the overall proportion of antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.
Design
Parallel, cluster randomised, controlled trial.
Setting
General practices in five regions in Germany. Data were collected between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.
Participants
General practitioners from 128 randomly assigned practices.
Interventions
Multimodal intervention consisting of guideline recommendations for general practitioners and patients, provision of regional data for antibiotic resistance, and quarterly feedback, which included individual first line and second line proportions of antibiotic prescribing, benchmarking with regional or supra-regional practices, and telephone counselling. Participants in the control group received no information on the intervention.
Main outcome measures
Primary outcome was the proportion of second line antibiotics prescribed by general practices, in relation to all antibiotics prescribed, for uncomplicated urinary tract infections after one year between the intervention and control group. General practices were randomly assigned in blocks (1:1), with a block size of four, into the intervention or control group using SAS version 9.4; randomisation was stratified by region. The secondary outcome was the prescription proportion of all antibiotics, relative within all cases (instances of UTI diagnosis), for the treatment of urinary tract infections after one year between the groups. Adverse events were assessed as exploratory outcomes.
Results
110 practices with full datasets identified 10 323 cases during five quarters (ie, 15 months). The mean proportion of second line antibiotics prescribed was 0.19 (standard deviation 0.20) in the intervention group and 0.35 (0.25) in the control group after 12 months. After adjustment for preintervention proportions, the mean difference was −0.13 (95% confidence interval −0.21 to −0.06, P<0.001). The overall proportion of all antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections over 12 months was 0.74 (standard deviation 0.22) in the intervention and 0.80 (0.15) in the control group with a mean difference of −0.08 (95% confidence interval −0.15 to −0.02, P<0.029). No differences were noted in the number of complications (ie, pyelonephritis, admission to hospital, or fever) between the groups.
Conclusions
The multimodal intervention in general practice significantly reduced the proportion of second line antibiotics and all antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00020389
Background
Providing adequate healthcare to newly arrived refugees is considered one of the significant challenges for the German healthcare system. These refugees can be classified mainly into two groups: asylum seekers (who have applied for asylum after arrival in Germany and are waiting for the refugee-status decision) and resettlement refugees (who have already been granted asylum status before arriving in Germany). Whereas earlier studies have explored the health status of asylum seekers especially in terms of mental and behavioural disorders and infectious diseases without distinguishing between these two groups, our study aims to evaluate possible relationships of asylum status and medical needs of these two groups with a special focus on mental and behavioural disorders and infectious diseases.
Methods
In this retrospective observational study, collected data on all asylum-seeker and resettlement-refugee patients (N = 2252) of a German reception centre (August 2017 to August 2018) is analysed by absolute and relative frequencies and medians. Patient data, collected by chart review, include age, gender, country of origin, asylum status, and diagnoses (ICD-10). To describe the relationship between sociodemographic factors (including asylum status) and diagnoses, we used tests of significance and bivariate correlations with Spearman correlation coefficients. All collected data are pseudonymised.
Results
Of all 2252 patients, 43% were resettlement refugees. In almost all ICD-10 categories, asylum seekers received significantly more diagnoses than resettlement refugees. According to our data, asylum seekers presented with mental and behavioural disorders nine times more often (9%) than resettlement refugees (1%). In the case of infectious diseases, the results are mixed: asylum seekers were twice as frequently (11%) diagnosed with certain infectious and parasitic diseases than resettlement refugees (5%), but resettlement refugees were treated twice as often (22% of the asylum seekers and 41% of the resettlement refugees) for diseases of the respiratory system, of which 84% were acute respiratory infections (in both groups).
Conclusion
This study indicates that patients with unregulated migration more frequently present symptoms of psychiatric diseases and somatoform symptoms than resettlement refugees. A health policy approach within migration policy should aim to enable persecuted persons to migrate under regulated and safe conditions.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00013076, retrospectively registered on 29.09.2017.
Introduction: Numerous tools exist to detect potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) and potential prescribing omissions (PPO) in older people, but it remains unclear which tools may be most relevant in which setting. Objectives: This cross sectional study compares six validated tools in terms of PIM and PPO detection. Methods: We examined the PIM/PPO prevalence for all tools combined and the sensitivity of each tool. The pairwise agreement between tools was determined using Cohen’s Kappa. Results: We included 226 patients in need of care (median (IQR age 84 (80–89)). The overall PIM prevalence was 91.6 (95% CI, 87.2–94.9)% and the overall PPO prevalence was 63.7 (57.1–69.9%)%. The detected PIM prevalence ranged from 76.5%, for FORTA-C/D, to 6.6% for anticholinergic drugs (German-ACB). The PPO prevalences for START (63.7%) and FORTA-A (62.8%) were similar. The pairwise agreement between tools was poor to moderate. The sensitivity of PIM detection was highest for FORTA-C/D (55.1%), and increased to 79.2% when distinct items from STOPP were added. Conclusion: Using a single screening tool may not have sufficient sensitivity to detect PIMs and PPOs. Further research is required to optimize the composition of PIM and PPO tools in different settings.