Fifth CoRe-Net Newsletter

We are pleased to present our fifth international newsletter. It provides up-to-date information concerning CoRe-Net ‒ a competence network connecting scientific practice and research in Cologne.

For further information on CoRe-Net, please visit our English website.


Content:

1. Look back: Health services research in Cologne – CoRe-Net invites

2. News from the CoRe-Net subprojects

2.1. LYOL-C
2.2. MenDis-CHD
2.3. OrgValue
2.4. K-APAT

3. Outlook


1. Look back: Health services research in Cologne – CoRe-Net invites

On January 15th, our event “Health Services Research in Cologne: CoRe-Net invites” took place at the Fritz Thyssen Foundation in Cologne. We are pleased about the participation of over 80 people and their interest regarding the results of CoRe-Net. In addition to the study findings from the CoRe-Net subprojects LYOL-C, MedDis-CHD and OrgValue, we were able to welcome representatives from the physicians, patients and nursing perspective. Furthermore, other speakers presented 17 exciting projects from the field of health services research in the Cologne region. Finally, we had the opportunity to continue the discussions and to end the evening with a drink, a snack and some wine.



We would like to thank all participants as well as the involved project staff of our event.
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Click here to read more about the event.


2. News from the CoRe-Net subprojects

2.1. LYOL-C

The evaluations for the study “Last year of life in Cologne” have now been completed. Several scientific articles are currently being written on this subject, which focus on the quantitative and qualitative results. A first article with the results of the questionnaire survey is currently under review. The scientific paper on the results of the qualitative survey of health care providers is being prepared and should be submitted in spring 2020. In addition, the project conclusion of the first funding phase is being initiated to prepare the way for the second project phase (LYOL-C-II). Furthermore, a factsheet with the central results of our study is in the process of preparation and will be presented on the CoRe-Net homepage.

The “Last year of life” project will also be implemented in Krefeld. The survey of relatives of patients who died in Krefeld will be supervised by the practice partner Prof. Dr. Thomas Frieling.

Read more here.


2.2. MenDis-CHD

The results of MenDis have now been evaluated: data from the large quantitative data set on the care of CHD patients (from the respective viewpoints of patients, relatives and therapists) as well as data from the interviews with patients and relatives and the interviews and focus groups of the therapists will be documented. We also presented our results in a poster at the German Congress for Health Services Research in Berlin.

The main results concerning the patient data of MenDis-CHD were successfully documented in two main publications and are currently available for finalization. Subsequently they will be published in two peer-reviewed journals. Furthermore, we are working successfully with the PMV group to advance the analysis of the SHI data. The CoRe-Net final event was a great success for us.

Read more here.


2.3. OrgValue

The scientific article about the results of the interview study with patients was submitted for publication in an international journal and is now being reviewed. The result reports from the quantitative survey of 237 decision-makers in care organisations in the city of Cologne were dispatched. Further results were presented from 9-11 October at the 18th German Congress for Health Services Research (DKVF) in Berlin.

The qualitative and quantitative studies on interviewing patients and decision-makers in health care organizations in the city of Cologne on their understanding of patient-centered care have been completed. Under the heading Publications you can already find various research reports, congress contributions and journal articles from the OrgValue project.

Read more here.


2.4. K-APAT

The K-APAT project, funded by the Innovation Fund and carried out in cooperation with CoRe-Net since April, deals with outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (via the vein). Some infectious diseases require treatment with antibiotics, which have to be administered as infusions. In Germany, this is usually done in hospital, even if the patient is otherwise in good state of health. In contrast, outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (APAT) is administered by patients independently at home. This allows patients to stay in their familiar environment. With the K-APAT project we would like to investigate the feasibility of this form of care. Among other things, we record the satisfaction of patients as well as the opinions of general practitioners and clinic doctors.

In January an important milestone was reached: we received the ethics vote of the North Rhine Medical Association (consecutive number: 2019373). This confirmed that the data in our project are collected and processed under ethical and legal aspects. Now the patient inclusion can be extended to other hospitals in the Cologne Metropolitan Region. We are currently preparing for this.

At the University Hospital of Cologne the patient inclusion is running according to schedule. The Infectiology Department is doing a great deal of educational work, including the distribution of flyers, regarding the form of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. The patient survey is also in progress and is proceeding according to plan. In addition, we have started individual interviews with patients and these are being conducted parallel to the survey.

Furthermore, focus groups (group discussions) with hospital physicians and general practitioners are scheduled for May. The preparations for these have already been completed. We are already very curious to see what conclusions we can gain from the survey.

Read more here.


3. Outlook

The application for a second funding phase has already been submitted. The final confirmation is still pending, but we have already received positive feedback. We are very much looking forward to the confirmation of the second funding phase.


With best regards,

Prof. Holger Pfaff and Dr. Nadine Scholten, on behalf of the applicants