[On the effectiveness of a new advisory service for parents of children in need of care: a controlled study].

On the effectiveness of a new advisory service for parents of children in need of care: a controlled study Families with children in need of care are exposed to great stress. This results in risks that often lead to a poor living and care situation for families. To support them, an innovative regionally anchored support service is being developed by so-called Family Health Partners (FGP) as part of the NEST research project.

[Use of support and relief services for parents of children in need of care: Results of the FamBer observational study].

Use of support and relief services for parents of children in need of care: Results of the FamBer observational study Parents of children in need of care in Germany can fall back on a variety of relief and support services. So far, however, there has been a lack of systematic studies and quantitative data on the use of such offers at the individual level of parents and other legal guardians. The study on the compatibility of care and work for parents with a child in need of care (FamBer; funding: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany) examines the knowledge of relief and support services, their use and the perceived benefits of these offers.

[The SCATTER project: computer-based simulation in the strategic transfer of intensive care patients].

Background: The need for a concept for the nationwide strategic transfer of critical care patients in Germany was highlighted during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. Despite the cloverleaf concept developed specifically for this purpose, the transfer of large numbers of critical care patients represents a major challenge. With the help of a computer simulation, the SCATTER research project uses a fictitious example to test, develop, and recommend transfer strategies.

Generalized data model for real-world capacitated lot-sizing problems with linked lot sizes and backorders.

This data article establishes the first data model for the Multi-Level Capacitated Lot-Sizing Problem with Linked Lot Sizes and Backorders (MLCLSP-L-B) for tablets manufacturing processes. The dataset consists out of nine tables and collects all required meta-information for capacitated lot-sizing problems with linked lot sizes and backorders. Furthermore, it is compatible to store information for single- and multi-level lot-sizing problem instance information.

Family health partners in regional network structures (NEST): A non-randomized controlled trial among parents of chronically ill and disabled children.

Background: The overarching project goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cross-sectoral and cross-service provider offering professional support for families with chronically ill and disabled children: so-called Family Health Partners (in German: 'Familien-Gesundheits-Partner' or FGP). This needs-oriented service, which is anchored in regional networks, aims to provide 'holistic' support for families with children in need of care.

Methods: We are carrying out a non-randomized controlled trial with four points of measurement (t0-t3 in 18 months), beginning in January 2022.

A matheuristic for customized multi-level multi-criteria university timetabling.

Course timetables are the organizational foundation of a university's educational program. While students and lecturers perceive timetable quality individually according to their preferences, there are also collective criteria derived normatively such as balanced workloads or idle time avoidance. A recent challenge and opportunity in curriculum-based timetabling consists of customizing timetables with respect to individual student preferences and with respect to integrating online courses as part of modern course programs or in reaction to flexibility requirements as posed in pandemic situations.

Mapping spatial and temporal trends of atmospheric deposition of nitrogen at the landscape level in Germany 2005, 2015 and 2020 and their comparison with emission data.

Mosses are particularly suitable for recording the accumulation of atmospheric substance inputs in large areas at relatively many locations. In Europe, this has been done every five years since 1990 as part of the European Moss Survey. In this framework, mosses were collected at up to 7312 sites in up to 34 countries and chemically analyzed for metals (since 1990), nitrogen (since 2005), persistent organic pollutants (since 2010) and microplastic (since 2015).

Item distribution, scalability and internal consistency of the QUALIDEM quality of life assessment for patients with dementia in acute hospital settings.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia (PwD) is an important indicator of quality of care. Studying the impact of acute hospital settings on PwD's QoL requires assessment instruments that consider environmental factors. Until now, dementia-specific QoL instruments have not yet demonstrated their feasibility in acute hospitals because their use takes up too much time or their validity depends on observation periods that usually exceed the average length of hospital stays.

Self-help friendliness in cancer care: A cross-sectional study among self-help group leaders in Germany.

Background: Peer support is increasingly recognized as crucial for improving health and psychosocial outcomes in oncological care. The integration of cancer self-help groups (SHGs) into cancer care facilities has gained importance in recent years. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge of the extent and quality of cooperation between cancer care facilities and SHGs and their integration into routine care.

Digitization in health-related self-help - Results of an online survey among self-help organizations in Germany.

Background: Nowadays, much hope and expectations are associated with digitization in the health sector. The digital change also affects health-related self-help. A nationwide survey of self-help organizations (SHOs) aimed to show chances and limitations in the use of interactive IT tools like webforums, online meetings or social media as well as digital infrastructures for their organizational management.

["And she turns around and sees it fully …" Psychological consequences in children of survivors of the "Hamburg Firestorm" (1943) in a systematic evaluation].

Is there a transmission of traumatic war experiences through the generations? In an interdisciplinary research project at Hamburg University psychoanalysts and historians investigated the long-term psychological effects of World War II bombing attacks in the "Hamburg Firestorm" (Operation Gomorrha) in 1943. In the frame of this work the paper asks for the psychological consequences in the following generation Evaluation of 45 completely transcribed life-historical interviews (28 female and 17 male of an average age of 50.2 years) with descendants of contemporary witnesses (at the time of the firestorm between 3 and 27 years old) by systematic diagnostic assessment.

Strategic planning of operating room session allocation using stability analysis.

Operating room (OR) resources are limited, and for this reason there is usually a competition among surgeons to win them. However, the methods developed for allocating OR sessions are mostly based on optimisation methods which compensate the preferences of surgeons or surgical specialities in favour of the productivity of the entire OR department. This leads to conflict and dissatisfaction among surgeons.

Simulation-based multi-criteria decision making: an interactive method with a case study on infectious disease epidemics.

Whenever a system needs to be operated by a central decision making authority in the presence of two or more conflicting goals, methods from multi-criteria decision making can help to resolve the trade-offs between these goals. In this work, we devise an interactive simulation-based methodology for planning and deciding in complex dynamic systems subject to multiple objectives and parameter uncertainty. The outline intermittently employs simulation models and global sensitivity analysis methods in order to facilitate the acquisition of system-related knowledge throughout the iterations.

[Comparing Community Capacities by Local Actors and External Experts: An Audit of Health Promotion Activities in Lenzsiedlung, Hamburg].

Aim: The questionnaire "Capacity building in Neighbourhoods (KEQ)" has five dimensions which are regarded as intermediary outcome results of community health promotion. The questionnaire was to be completed by local actors and thus has some features of self-evaluation. We wanted to find out whether external experts make similar or more critical assessments.

Health-related quality of life among migrants and natives in Hamburg, Germany: An observational study.

Purpose: The aim of this observational study was firstly, to assess the Health-related Quality of Life (HrQoL) among migrants and German natives in Hamburg, Germany, using the SF-12 mental and physical summary scores and secondly, to evaluate the contribution of selected sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables to explain the variance in mental and physical HrQoL separately for migrants and natives.

Methods: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with n=809 participants between May 2018 and July 2019 in six randomly selected statistical districts of Hamburg grouped into four levels of socioeconomic status (SES). The SF-12 questionnaire was used to measure the HrQoL.

Do multiple community-based interventions on health promotion tackle health inequalities?

Background: Previous systematic reviews of the impact of multi-component community-based health promotion interventions on reducing health inequalities by socio-economic status (SES) were restricted to physical activity and smoking behavior, and revealed limited and rather disillusioning evidence. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive review worldwide to close this gap, including a wide range of health outcomes.

Methods: The Pubmed and PsycINFO databases were screened for relevant articles published between January 1999 and August 2019, revealing 87 potentially eligible publications out of 2876 hits.

Effectiveness of Community-Based Health Promotion Interventions in Urban Areas: A Systematic Review.

Over the past few decades, a community-based approach was seen to be the "gold standard" for health promotion and disease prevention, especially in the field of socially deprived neighborhoods in urban areas. Up to the beginning of the 2000s, earlier reviews provide valuable information on activities in this context. However, in their conclusions they were limited to North America and Europe.

Operations research meets need related planning: Approaches for locating general practitioners' practices.

Background: In most western countries a shortage of general practitioners (GP) exists. Newly qualified GPs often prefer to work in teams rather than in single-handed practices. Therefore, new practices offering these kinds of working conditions will be attractive in the future.

Modelling spatial patterns of correlations between concentrations of heavy metals in mosses and atmospheric deposition in 2010 across Europe.

Background: This paper aims to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of nine heavy metals in moss and atmospheric deposition within ecological land classes covering Europe. Additionally, it is examined to what extent the statistical relations are affected by the land use around the moss sampling sites. Based on moss data collected in 2010/2011 throughout Europe and data on total atmospheric deposition modelled by two chemical transport models (EMEP MSC-E, LOTOS-EUROS), correlation coefficients between concentrations of heavy metals in moss and in modelled atmospheric deposition were specified for spatial subsamples defined by ecological land classes of Europe (ELCE) as a spatial reference system.

(Persistent) Organic pollutants in Germany: results from a pilot study within the 2015 moss survey.

Background: Since 1990, every 5 years, moss sampling is conducted within the European moss monitoring programme to assess the atmospheric deposition of airborne pollutants. Besides many other countries, Germany takes regularly part at these evaluations. Within the European moss monitoring 2015, more than 400 moss samples across Germany were taken according to a harmonized methodology for the assessment heavy metal and nitrogen input.

[Participation in self-help groups: impact on self-management and knowledge].

Background: Self-help groups (SHGs) are an inherent part of patient involvement and play an important role in the healthcare system. Until now, however, there has been a lack of systematic investigations and quantitative data about the individual impact of self-help for patients and relatives.

Objectives: This study presents the results of a comparison between members of SHGs and non-members.

Site-specific investigation and spatial modeling of canopy drip effect on element concentrations in moss.

In this study, the canopy drip effect on the exposure of forests to atmospheric deposition of potentially toxic metals and nitrogen (N) and element accumulation was investigated. Thereby, the respective element concentrations of metals and N in moss specimens were investigated by example of North-Western Germany. To this end, on the one hand, the concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, Ni, Sb, V, Zn, and N in mosses sampled under, outside, and at the edge of forest canopies were examined for statistical significant differences.

Spatially valid data of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen derived by moss surveys for pollution risk assessments of ecosystems.

For analysing element input into ecosystems and associated risks due to atmospheric deposition, element concentrations in moss provide complementary and time-integrated data at high spatial resolution every 5 years since 1990. The paper reviews (1) minimum sample sizes needed for reliable, statistical estimation of mean values at four different spatial scales (European and national level as well as landscape-specific level covering Europe and single countries); (2) trends of heavy metal (HM) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in moss in Europe (1990-2010); (3) correlations between concentrations of HM in moss and soil specimens collected across Norway (1990-2010); and (4) canopy drip-induced site-specific variation of N concentration in moss sampled in seven European countries (1990-2013). While the minimum sample sizes on the European and national level were achieved without exception, for some ecological land classes and elements, the coverage with sampling sites should be improved.

Involving self-help groups in health-care institutions: the patients' contribution to and their view of 'self-help friendliness' as an approach to implement quality criteria of sustainable co-operation.

Background: The importance of patient participation and involvement is now widely acknowledged; in the past, few systematic health-care institution policies existed to establish sustainable co-operation. In 2004, in Germany, the initiative 'Self-Help Friendliness (SHF) and Patient-Centeredness in Health Care' was launched to establish and implement quality criteria related to collaboration with patient groups.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe (i) how patients were involved in the development of SHF by summarizing a number of studies and (ii) a new survey on the importance and feasibility of SHF.