Bettina Berger

Self-management and self-efficacy/patient perspective (non-pharmacological interventions)

Contents and aims of the research area

• Development and evaluation of training programmes,
• Practical procedures and decision-making aids to increase the self-management competence and self-efficacy of patients with chronic diseases
• Investigations into interventional possibilities of non-pharmacological therapy methods from the field of mind-body medicine (e.g. yoga, meditation, eurythmy therapy), for coping with illness and promoting the recovery resources of chronically ill patients
• Self-management programmes as a resource for dealing with developmental challenges and crises (primary and secondary prevention strategies)
• Increasing the effectiveness of complementary medical procedures through reflexive research concepts
• Development and use of qualitative methods for perceiving the patient perspective in the context of complementary medicine research (first person perspective)

Current research projects

• Development of an instrument to measure diabetes-related self-efficacy in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes
• Mapping the curriculum of patient-centred integrative medical diabetes education programmes
• Generic training programme for informed decision-making
• Development and evaluation of a decision aid on the topic of missed appointments
• The Rubicon as an existential crisis experience of children in middle childhood, its empirical examination and the development of training/counselling tools in cooperation with the Children's Hospital of the University of Tübingen and the Alanushochschule
• Evaluation of complementary medicine procedures using qualitative and psychometric methods
• Body schema changes through complementary medical procedures
• Metaethnographic methods for compiling patient-side concepts of individualised medicine
• Survey of decision-making conflicts of parents with small children regarding vaccination decisions

Publications:

Academic education

10/2002 - 12/2005
Doctoral studies at the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Hamburg
Doctor of Philosophy (magna cum laude)

2001 - 2003
Interuniversitäre AG für Gesundheitsförderung Graz/Austria, Master's programme (MAS) for complementary, psychosocial and integrative health promotion according to Austrian university law
Diploma for complementary, psychosocial and integrative health promotion (cHP)

2nd half-year 2000
Institute for Education at the University of Münster
Further training in methodology and didactics of medical teaching
Certificate

1994 - 2000
European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder)
Study of cultural studies
Specialisations: Identity and foreignness, modernity and counter-modernity
Diploma in Cultural Studies (very good)

1986 - 1988
Humboldt University, Berlin
Studied theology

Appointments

Since 2/ 2010
Research assistant at the Chair of Medical Theory and Complementary Medicine at Witten/Herdecke University

10/2009 - 1-2010
Self-employed as consultant, trainer, contract lecturer, researcher

10/2008 - 9/2009
Research assistant at the Institute for Transcultural Health Sciences (IntraG) at the European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), development and coordination of the Master's programme "Complementary Medicine, Cultural Studies, Healing"

4/2006 - 9/2008
Research assistant at the Health Care Research Coordination Centre, University of Bremen - coordination of qualitative research projects on perspectives of general practice and the evaluation of patient information

6/2002 - 12/2005
Research assistant at the University of Hamburg/health science - management of the project "Training in scientific competence for patient and consumer representatives" as part of the funding programme under §65b SGB V

8/2000 - 12/2001
Verbraucherzentralen Schleswig-Holstein und Hamburg - Project coordinator of the EU project Patient Navigation, EU-wide research on patient information and complaint management in the health care system

1992 - 1994
Employee in the mobile counselling team of the Regional Centre for Foreigners' Issues/Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam

9/1988 - 6/1990
Trained and worked as a medical bath attendant/masseur at the clinic for physiotherapy in Berlin/Buch

9/1985 - 6/1986
Social year at Elisabeth Hospital, Berlin