Dear CoRe-Net members,
dear Sir or Madam,
at the beginning of the new year, we would like to summarize the events of 2020 and also look ahead to 2021.
Content
End of the first funding phase
The year 2020 began with a representation of our study results from the CoRe-Net projects LYOL-C, MendDis-CHD and OrgValue at our event “Health Services Research in Cologne: CoRe-Net invites” at the Fritz Thyssen Foundation in Cologne.
In addition to the results from CoRe-Net, we were able to welcome representatives from the perspective of physicians, patients and caregivers. Other speakers presented 17 projects from health services research in the area of Cologne.
Since April, we have been able to celebrate the successful closure of the first funding phase, not least thanks to your support!! Through the joint exchange, the connection of practice and research as well as the networking of the researchers among each other succeeded.
Start of the second funding phase
A joint exchange between practitioners, scientists and Cologne citizens continues to be the aim of the second funding phase, which was officially launched in May and made possible by renewed funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The University of Cologne also reported on CoRe-Net II in a press release (in german language).
Contents from project work
Our first milestone should be to obtain a positive vote from the ethics committee of the University Hospital of Cologne in order to ensure data protection and ethical-moral aspects of our planned intervention. For this purpose, numerous information materials for the recruitment of patients as well as materials for the conception of the intervention have already been prepared. The next steps primarily comprised the logistical preparations for the implementation of the subprojects.
The CoRe-Net as infrastructure and database as well as the project LYOL-C and parts of the project OrgValue have already been approved by the ethics committee, so that the data collection for these areas could start on 5th January this year.
For a detailed description of the project work, we provided you with two newsletters last year – in May and in December. Our new flyer (in german language) also summarizes the aims and focus areas of the second funding phase. In addition, in 2020 a total of 20 publications were issued by CoRe-Net and the sub-projects, which are available on our homepage under the heading Publications.
Events
Methods forum
On 19th August 2020, our hybrid methods forum on the topic of “CoRe-Net database for tomorrow’s research” took place once again in cooperation with the Center for Health Services Research (ZVFK), on the premises of the University Hospital Cologne and via Zoom. A total of five speakers led through the multifaceted program.
Methods seminar
On November 3rd, 2020, two digital methods seminars on “Socioeconomic Impact Assessment – SEIA” were offered in cooperation with the Center for Health Services Research Cologne (ZVFK).
General assembly
On Dezember 9th, 2020, our first CoRe-Net general assembly of the second funding phase took place. In addition to contributions from the CoRe-Net projects and a report on the CoRe-Net database, which was given the acronym CoRe-Dat last year, Dr. Thomas Joist (representative of the provider perspective) and Mr. Michael Müller (representative of the patient perspective) were elected to the Steering Board.
In addition, Dr. Sabine Eichberg, from the Health Department of the City of Cologne, will also support CoRe-Net on the advisory board for the preparation of the care reports. In the course of the second funding phase, three health care reports with different focuses for Cologne will be developed and published. The care reports take up the tradition of municipal health reporting. The CoRe-Dat will build the data basis. The reports addresses topics such as morbidity, health care costs, and health care structures and processes. The evidence provided is intended to help identify specific needs and areas for municipal intervention to improve health and social care and to make this knowledge available to policy makers, health care providers and also the citizens of Cologne.
Care report
The first care report, which is expected to be published in the first half of 2021, will focus on the care of people in the last year of life. It builds on the results of the LYOL-C project and is being prepared jointly by the PMV research group and the Center for Palliative Medicine at Cologne University Hospital.
New network offer
Based on the exchange at the general assembly, we would like to open a new section on our homepage and in our newsletter from March 2021, where we would be happy to advertise your job offers. Feel free to send us your ads by e-mail to CoRe-Net@uk-koeln.de.
We are now looking forward to further collaboration to improve medical and social care in Cologne.
With kind regards
Prof. Dr. Holger Pfaff, Dr. Nadine Scholten and Lisa Bach
On behalf of all the aplicants and employees.
