State-wide investigation project aims to improve care for thalidomide victims

10.10.2012 17:31

As part of the international trade fair Rehacare from October 10th to 13th in Düsseldorf, the interest group Contergangeschädigter NRW eV and Dr. Becker Rhein-Sieg-Klinik will present the current status of a research project that is intended to systematically record the long-term damage suffered by thalidomide victims for the first time. The NRW Ministry of Health commissioned the project in 2011 through the State Health Center in Bochum, now part of the NRW State Center for Health.

The aim of the project is to develop individual treatment and care concepts that take better account of the physical and psychological situation of the around 800 people in North Rhine-Westphalia who have been affected by thalidomide. For this purpose, around 200 thalidomide victims from North Rhine-Westphalia will receive detailed medical and psychological treatment in the Dr. Becker Rhein-Sieg Clinic in Nümbrecht (Oberbergischer Kreis). After completing the examinations, participants receive an individual examination report, which may also contain treatment recommendations.

In particular, the long-term effects and long-term damage caused by the disabilities and impairments of those affected by thalidomide in the 1960s are being examined in detail as part of the research work. Contergan victims have been compensating for their disabilities for 50 years now. Bringing the coffee cup to your mouth with your feet is just one example of numerous trained movement sequences. It is precisely because of these burdens that new, as yet unrecognized consequential damage is now occurring.

Many of those affected have been suffering from chronic pain for years, for example in the lumbar or cervical spine. As a result, many of those affected leave their working lives early and are only able to live with very limited independence. Because the victims are often people with severe disabilities, the research project is supported by a so-called “peer-to-peer” project from the Stiftung Wohlfahrtspflege NRW. Specially trained people who themselves have Contergan-related damage (peers) accompany the study participants during the implementation of the study and provide them with support. The study is expected to be completed next year.