Research network on the health of children and adolescents with BTU participation

In cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), representative surveys are carried out in schools every four years. The surveys on the health of children and young people are carried out as part of the international HBSC study(Health Behavior in School-aged Children), in which 51 countries are involved.

A research network led by the University of Technology Munich (TUM) and the University Medical Center Halle collected the current data for Germany. Some of the results of the nationwide HBSC study were published in the Journal of Health Monitoring and presented at the Poverty and Health 2024 congress in Berlin.

The researchers investigated issues relating to physical activity, bullying and cyberbullying, mental well-being, health literacy and health inequalities. The most recent survey in 2022 involved 6,475 pupils aged 11 to 15 from all over Germany.

The state of Brandenburg has been participating in the HBSC study with its own representative sample since 2017. Prof. Dr. Ludwig Bilz is the project manager for the HBSC study "Health and Health Behavior of Pupils in the State of Brandenburg". Cooperation partners are the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport(MBJS) and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Integration and Consumer Protection(MSGIV) of the State of Brandenburg as well asAOK Nordost.

The HBSC Study Network Germany comprises seven locations, each specializing in different subject areas, and is jointly managed by the University of Technology Munich (Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter) and the University Medical Center Halle (Dr. Irene Moor).

Other participating locations are the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (Prof. Dr. Ludwig Bilz), the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer), the Heidelberg University of Education (Prof. Dr. Jens Bucksch), the University of Tübingen (Prof. Dr. Gorden Sudeck) and the University of Applied Sciences Fulda (Prof. Dr. Katharina Rathmann, Prof. Dr. Kevin Dadaczynski).

Information on the German HBSC study: www.hbsc-germany.de.

The international HBSC study has its origins in 1982, when it was launched in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO)(www.hbsc.org). Germany has been involved in the research network since 1992. A comprehensive international classification of the German HBSC study results with other participating countries is expected to be published in summer 2024.