Abstracts by keywords: GeWINO
Early detection, the so-called skin cancer screening, has been a service since 2008 that legally insured people aged 35 and over can use every two years free of charge. Dermatologists and doctors from certain specialist groups with appropriate training examine the skin for suspicious changes that should be removed. The analyzes carried out here describe the status quo and development trends in utilization. The basis of the analyzes is the anonymized research database of AOK Nordost with its approximately 1.75 million insured persons. The results presented capture the development between 2008 - the year skin cancer screening was introduced as an insurance benefit - and the year 2015. All AOK Nordost insured persons aged 35 and over who were fully insured within the year under consideration and in the three federal states of Berlin , Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are part of the study population. In 2008, the study population comprised approximately 1.23 million insured people. By 2015, it had fallen to around 1.19 million insured people (see Table 1). For some analyses, nationalities were examined. Nationality can be viewed as an indicator of differences in individual risk factors – such as skin type.
04.06.2018
Pollen-related allergic rhinitis (hay fever) is one of the most common allergic diseases in children and adolescents (Schmitz et al. 2017). In Germany, the 12-month prevalence of medically diagnosed hay fever among 3 to 17 year olds is 9.9% (Poethko-Müller et al. 2018). This results in an allergic reaction of the nasal mucosa and the conjunctiva to certain pollen, for example that of birch, which leads, among other things, to increased secretion, sneezing, restrictions in nasal breathing and itching. Although the symptoms of a pollen allergy can be very stressful and severely limit the quality of life and academic success, they are often trivialized (Greiner et al. 2011). In addition, high direct and indirect economic costs are attributed to allergic rhinitis and its secondary diseases, for example bronchial asthma and later COPD (Pfaar et al. 2014).
04.06.2018
As part of the 1st Northeast Children's Report of the Northeast Health Sciences Institute of the AOK Nordost, the development of antibiotic use in the pediatric setting was also examined (Witte et al. 2017). In general usage and also in the clinical context, antibiotics refer to active ingredients that inhibit the growth of bacteria or kill them. Due to decades of excessive and untargeted use of antibiotics, the increase in insensitivity of bacterial pathogens has developed into a significant public health problem worldwide. Patients and doctors are increasingly confronted with bacterial strains that are resistant to many common antibiotic agents (WHO 2011). As a result of the increase in so-called multi-resistant pathogens, the duration of treatment, the severity of the disease and the risk of death from serious infections are increasing. The same applies to the resulting costs of appropriate medical care (Aloush et al. 2006; Maragakis et al. 2008; Song et al. 2003; Qavi et al. 2005).
06.12.2017
Psychogenic eating disorders include various types of eating disorders that differ in their symptoms. Psychogenic eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (AN), also known as “anorexia”. In addition to bulimia nervosa (BN), also known as “bulimia” or “eating addiction”, and binge eating disorder (BES, also “eating addiction”), AN is one of the most researched forms of eating disorders. Depending on the type of eating disorder, different symptoms are characteristic of psychogenic eating disorders (DGPM/DKPM 2010). The risk of chronicity in eating disorders is high. Those affected usually have to struggle with the disease for several years, require several treatment attempts and the symptoms sometimes persist even after successful therapy. In addition, it is assumed that most of those affected do not attract attention in the healthcare system and that only a fraction of those who do seek treatment (Hoek 2006; DGPM/DKPM 2010; Smink 2016). In addition, eating disorders are accompanied by numerous physical sequelae. The earlier the disease breaks out, the higher the risk of chronic damage (Holtkamp/Herpertz-Dahlmann 2005). In addition, deaths due to an eating disorder are often due to the physical consequences. Overall, mortality in eating disorders is significantly higher: in bulimia by a factor of 1.9 and in anorexia by a factor of 5.9 (Smink 2016).
06.12.2017
Immigration to Germany, which has increased significantly since 2014 and increased sharply since 2015, also poses new challenges for the health care system in particular when it comes to ensuring health care. The previously insufficiently researched problem of overcoming language barriers, cultural differences and logistical challenges to ensure optimal access to healthcare, but also to ensure that migrants receive healthcare that meets their needs, should be examined in this study – the first “Berlin Migrant Study” – by GeWINO be discussed and presented. The North East Health Sciences Institute (GeWINO) of the AOK Nordost has been monitoring the development of health care for people with a migrant background for some time now, also within the framework of the “International Health Insurance” focus, and, together with regional partners, is looking for quick and unbureaucratic solutions to improve the health care of migrants in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The aim of the first “Berlin Migrant Study” was to provide data and facts on the current development of health care for migrants in Berlin in order to support the planning and development of regional structures to overcome the challenges posed by migration in the German health care system and to address these through innovative measures AOK Nordost to be added. The first “Berlin Migrant Study” was carried out by the North East Health Sciences Institute (GeWINO) of the AOK Nordost in cooperation with the bbw Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft in Berlin und Brandenburg eV and the bbw Hochschule Berlin in 2015. The second “Berlin Migrant Study”, which is being carried out in the same constellation, has already been started and GeWINO will continue to devote itself to the topic in the future.