What are the arguments in favour of conducting research together and not in competition with each other?
In our coverCHILD research network, we are investigating the effects of crises such as the coronavirus pandemic on the health of children and adolescents and would like to establish an interdisciplinary research platform. This is only possible if a team of clinicians and scientists from the fields of paediatrics, public health and child and adolescent psychiatry work together and pursue common goals. Close collaboration allows competences and resources to be optimally bundled and sustainable structures to be established.
Why are you involved in the NUM?
As a health scientist, I have been working on the mental health and quality of life of children and adolescents for many years and have conducted research in various national and international teams. When the coronavirus pandemic began, it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to investigate how children and young people are doing during this challenging time and give them a voice. As a research assistant and coordinator in the coverCHILD project, I can contribute to a better understanding of the unique situation of children and their families in times of crisis and to protecting their health needs and interests in future crises.
What was the biggest success in your NUM research project?
In the second funding phase of the NUM, coverCHILD succeeded in explicitly addressing the needs of children, adolescents and their families. Thanks to the interdisciplinary collaboration between paediatrics, public health and child and adolescent psychiatry, it was possible to record and evaluate the particular stresses and threats to children and adolescents in times of crisis, both somatically and psychologically. Successes include the updating of the AWMF S3 guideline on dealing with COVID-19 in schools, the development of a study data platform and a method toolbox as well as the integration of hospital data into a dashboard in order to make the change in diagnosis frequencies visible in a timely manner.
Imagine you are at a barbecue with friends. Describe what you do in one sentence.
I work as a scientist in a research centre at Hamburg University Hospital and investigate how children and young people in Germany are doing - in particular how their mental health is doing, which children are particularly affected by mental stress and how their mental health can be strengthened.