Scientific Coordination Centre

The Scientific Coordination Centre (SCC) is the superstructure of the entire research group. It ensures that the individual work packages work together in a coordinated manner and is also responsible for management issues such as the organisation of HELICAP meetings, finances and scientific communication.
Research projects are also implemented in the SCC: Based on a modified HL model, in which social, environmental, situational and personal determinants are included, HELICAP investigates HL in the five different sub-projects (WP) presented, which are coordinated by the Scientific Coordination Centre (SCC).

Source:

[1]Sørensen K , Van den Broucke S, Fullam J, et al. Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health, 2012. 12: p. 80.

Strengthening health literacy (HL) is a priority area of public health (PH) action in Germany. It has been shown that higher health literacy is associated with better health and that more than half of the German population has difficulties in dealing with health information and the healthcare system. Currently, health literacy is mostly understood as the knowledge, competence and motivation of individuals to find, understand, (critically) evaluate and apply health information in order to make good health-related decisions. This understanding of HCI brings with it several challenges: 

It is therefore necessary, 

  1. consider the individual needs and limitations not only of the general population but also of specific target groups, such as at-risk groups 
  2. consider the complex social, ethical, environmental and systemic forces that affect health decisions, 
  3. further clarify the role of changing scientific knowledge and professional expertise in public health research, and
  4. advance the measurement of HL, and in doing so 
  5. address uncertainty in scientific findings and recommendations.

The DFG research group HELICAP addresses these challenges using the example of two use cases: early childhood allergy prevention (ECAP) and COVID-19 in children with allergies (COVICAL), both characterised by a high degree of uncertainty.

Study objectives

The SCC is responsible for the joint work programme of the HELICAP group and implements it on the basis of three main tasks: 

  1. it supports the participation of various stakeholders, in the Public Health Participation Board (PHEIB) and the Scientific Public Health Advisory Board (SPHAB). In addition, the Task Force "Participatory Research" (TFPF), which was already established in the first funding phase, will be continued. 
  2. conducting a research study to accompany the meetings of the advisory boards and the HELICAP workshops (conversation analysis, participant observation) and 
  3. synthesising research findings, including an overview of existing interventions at both educational and system level. 

Compared to the first funding phase, HELICAP has a more interventional character. 
The aim is also to specify the HL model already modified in the first funding phase for the two use cases ECAP and COVICAL. HELICAP workshops, advisory board meetings, workshops for young scientists and the TFPF meetings ensure that there is always room for scientific discourse.