Elective Community Medicine I

If the number of participants is large enough, the students are divided into two groups, which run through the seminar topics in parallel. The duration is 28 hours (2 SWS).

In this interdisciplinary elective course, students of human medicine and dentistry examine the population-related aspects of health, disease and medical practice. The course provides an in-depth understanding of the complex interactions between individual, social and structural factors that influence health and disease, both on a personal and collective level.

The focus is on the methodological foundations of epidemiology and Community Medicine: students learn key epidemiological measures, methods for describing disease incidence in the population, and procedures for analysing risk factors and causes of disease. Building on this, the application of these findings to prevention and health promotion in the population is taught in a practical manner.

The aim of the elective is to enable future doctors to always reflect on medical practice in a social context and to contribute to healthcare at the population level: evidence-based, preventive and responsible.

Topics Winter semester 2025/2026

• Epidemiologische Maßzahlen bevölkerungsrelevanter Krankheiten
• Soziale Ungleichheit und Einflussfaktoren auf Gesundheit und Krankheit
• Public Health Impact von digitalen Präventionsmaßnahmen
• Epidemiologie von Schilddrüsenerkrankungen
• Diagnostik
• Gesundheitskompetenz
• Messmethoden in der Community Medicine
• Transition von Jugendlichen von der Pädiatrie in die Erwachsenenmedizin
• Prävention von chronischen Erkrankungen in Bevölkerungen

The learning objectives address different levels of learning. The process is divided into two levels:

• At the level of knowledge: students acquire a theoretical understanding of the relevant complex of topics from a holistic perspective.
• At the level of skill development: Students learn to critically analyze their own medical knowledge horizon in terms of knowledge stocks and gaps. The comprehensive examination of the many factors influencing health and disease lays the foundation for interdisciplinary thinking and action. In addition, at the end of the course, students are able to create and present a scientific poster.

Type of Performance Review:

• regular participation (max. 2 missing dates)
• Participation in group work
• Creation and presentation of a scientific poster (group work)
• On-time submission of the electronic poster file

The division into poster groups of maximum 4 students and the assignment of the poster topics related to the seminar content will take place in the introductory session. Each poster group should have found a topic as quickly as possible, the contents of which are to be presented on a poster and presented in the final event. The 1-3 scientific articles on which the poster is based can be researched by the group itself or suggested and provided by the instructor on the respective course topic. Each group is entitled to one consultation appointment, during which any comprehension questions should be answered.

The goal of the performance review is to scientifically work on a topic with a self-selected question and to reproduce it on a scientific poster. This should be followed by a short presentation including discussion. It is not the aim to reproduce the edited article(s) exclusively in terms of content.

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