Health, Long-term Care and Pensions

This department concerns itself with all issues relating to healthcare systems, long-term care and pensions from a local, national and international comparative perspective. We take an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary approach in our work, and strive to address current policy issues in order to provide scientifically based policy advice.

Research Topics

  • Identification of inequalities in terms of need and provision.
  • Identification of causes of aforesaid inequalities.
  • The study of concepts and legislative framework conditions that preclude inequalities and ensure status preservation.
  • The study of concepts and societal framework conditions that have the capacity to compensate the impact of underprivileged socioeconomic status on needs-based healthcare provision.
  • Studies on status preservation and the securing of adequate income levels in cases of sickness, for people in need of long-term care or for the elderly.
  • Quality, effectiveness, efficacy and transparency of medical and long-term care in an economic and societal context.

 

Thematic Areas

  • Health economics and health policy
  • Long-term care economics and politics
  • Research on long-term care provision
  • Health services research

 

Methodological Perspectives

The department takes an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary, institutionalist approach and utilizes a wide range of data sources, survey methods, interventions and analytical procedures. It specialises in the following areas:

  • Qualitative and quantitative international comparative social policy research
  • Health services research on the basis of routine data – especially health insurance fund data – and other secondary data. Here, the linkage between our own surveys and routine data holds special potential.
  • Evaluation of healthcare provision structures or elements of healthcare provision on the basis of our own field surveys, in some cases applying specially developed interventions.

 

Knowledge transfer

The Department strives to address current policy issues in its research and provide evidence-based policy advice. We also provide knowledge transfer through patient counselling and conducting consultations with service providers and funding agencies.

 

Working Groups

Headed by Professor Dr. Heinz Rothgang
Headed by Professor Dr. Quante-Brandt