Claudia R Pischke

• Dr. phil.
• Head of Department at Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS

In Germany, routine screenings are used to monitor the health and development of children and adolescents, enabling timely discovery and treatment of health issues. One such screening, called J1, is recommended for adolescents aged 12–14 years, but participation is only 43%. In the state of Bavaria, a lack of awareness is the main reason cited for...

Zusammenfassung Dieses Positionspapier des Fachbereichs Digital Public Health der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Public Health e. V. definiert Digital Public Health (DiPH) und beschreibt deren Ziele sowie Potenziale. Ferner geht es auf die derzeitige Situation und Herausforderungen sowie Handlungsbedarfe in Deutschland ein. Der Schwerpunkt liegt hierbe...

Background. Obesity’s negative impact on young people’s health has long been known. The family and its socioeconomic position (SEP) are key determinants in adolescent obesity. However, understanding which familial determinants explain the association remains limited. Method. The analyses are based on data from the “German Health Interview and Exami...

Background Despite marked decreases in physical activity (PA) in Germany due to the pandemic, population-based intervention strategies to tackle this public health problem remain sparse. The 12-month PA intervention ‘10,000 Steps Duesseldorf’ was composed of multiple components: at individual level, website to self-monitor steps; organizational lev...

Background: Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) are capable of closing gaps in the prevention and therapy of common mental disorders. Despite their proven effectiveness and approval for prescription, use rates remain low. The reasons include a lack of familiarity and knowledge as well as lasting concerns. Medical students were shown to have...

Text and Table Correction [...]

Introduction Data on the mental health of university students in Germany during the later stages of the pandemic is still limited. This study aimed to determine (1) the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among university students 1.5 years after the first COVID-19 restrictions and (2) which factors were associated with these outcomes. M...

Zusammenfassung Komplexe Interventionsansätze zur Bewegungsförderung auf Bevölkerungsebene im urbanen Raum bedürfen einer kontinuierlichen Zusammenarbeit von Akteur:innen aus unterschiedlichen für den Themenbereich relevanten Sektoren der Stadtgesellschaft. Im folgenden Beitrag wird die Vorgehensweise und intersektorale Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen ein...

Aim This study aimed to evaluate factors affecting older adults’ participation in a blended physical activity (PA) intervention, which comprised tailored home-based exercises and supervised on-site group sessions with peers. Specifically, the objective was to explore participants’ feedback for identifying specific requirements regarding interventio...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on students’ financial situation as well as on their mental health. Aim To examine the reported change in the financial situation of German university students before and across two time points of the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate its associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Me...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Unter Studierenden sind depressive Symptome weit verbreitet, wobei weibliche Studierende häufiger davon betroffen sind als männliche. Vorherige Forschung zeigt einen Anstieg der Prävalenz depressiver Symptome in den ersten Semestern. Die COVID-19-Pandemie („coronavirus disease 2019“) könnte diesen Trend verschärft haben...

Background In Germany, various preventive services are offered to children and adolescents. These include regular standardized examinations (so called U/J examinations) and several vaccinations. Although strongly recommended, most of them are not mandatory. Our aim is to identify factors associated with the use of U/J examinations and vaccination a...

BACKGROUND The impact of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) in the prevention and therapy of common mental disorders (CMDs) on healthcare has been debated in view of the currently low utilization rates. Potential reasons may include lacking awareness or familiarity with DMHIs as well as concerns about their quality, trusted sources and the...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Der Anstieg des Konsums elektronischer Zigaretten bei jungen Erwachsenen sowie das offensive Marketing an diese Zielgruppe erfordert die Entwicklung von effektiven und nachhaltigen Strategien zur Prävention. Ziele dieser Studie waren daher, Risikowahrnehmung und Einstellungen bezüglich des Konsums von E‑Zigaretten bei j...

Introduction University students are at high risk for loneliness with a potential negative impact on health. The COVID-19 measures disrupted students’ academic routine and social life, which might have affected their perception of loneliness. This study investigated the prevalence of perceived loneliness among university students in Germany during...

Objective Few studies have investigated health inequalities among young workers. The objectives of this study are to assess the extent of health inequalities in a sample of job starters and to explore the contribution of job demands and organisational factors. Methods We analyze data from the BIBB/BAuA Youth Employment Survey 2012. The cross-secti...

University students are generally vulnerable to mental health problems. This was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when students experienced decisive changes and restrictions in their academic lives. Our study aimed at (a) analysing associations between study conditions and symptoms of depression and anxiety and (b) determining the extent o...

Children's overweight is strongly associated with family socioeconomic position (SEP) and family characteristics (FC). There is limited research on the extent to which FC account for a socioeconomic gradient in childhood overweight. This study examined whether FC explain SEP differences in the prevalence of overweight. The study used baseline data...

Introduction Health inequalities start early in life. The time of young adulthood, between late teens and early twenties, is especially interesting in this regard. This time of emerging adulthood, the transition from being a child to becoming an adult, is characterized by the detachment from parents and establishing of an own independent life. From...

Objective: Using the biopsychosocial model, this study evaluated an intervention targeting physical activity and the extent of social participation among older adults. A longitudinal intervention study with participants randomized to print-based or IT-based interventions was conducted (N = 251, Mage = 68.42, SD = 5.35). Effects were assessed with m...

Evidence indicates a higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among university students due to their age and a lower risk of COVID-19 related complications compared to the general population in Germany. However, little is known about the other determinants of COVID-19 vaccination behavior for the population of German university students. This study aimed...

Background This study aimed to identify latent moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) trajectories in older adults participating in a randomized intervention trial and to explore associations with baseline social-cognitive predictors. Methods Data were assessed at baseline (T0, participants were inactiv...

Background Anxiety is widespread among university students. The COVID-19 pandemic af-fected students’ mental health negatively. Given the long duration of the pandemic monitoring mental health remains important. This study aims to determine to which extent anxiety is preva-lent among students (1), what factors are associated with it (2) and which s...

Almost all Western societies are facing the challenge that their population structure is changing very dynamically. Already in 2019, ten countries had a population share of at least 20 percent in the age group of 64 years and older. Today's society aims to improve population health and help older people live active and independent lives by developi...

Background Given the long duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring mental health remains important. This study aimed to determine (1) the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among university students 20 months after the first COVID-19 restrictions and (2) which factors were associated with these outcomes. Methods The cross-sectional...

Background The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA), which translates to approximately 7000 to 10,000 steps per day for adults. In Germany, less than half of the population in this age range meets this recommendation, highlighting the need for population-based intervention approaches for pr...

Background Despite the crucial role of regular physical activity (PA) for preventing chronic non-communicable diseases, fewer than half of older adults in Germany engage in the recommended levels. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare acceptance and effectiveness of two interventions for PA promotion among initially inactive community-dwe...

Globally, four out of five adolescents do not meet the recommendations for physical activity (PA). Moving large segments of young adults from inactivity to activity is essential to reach the global target of a 15% relative reduction in inactivity by 2030 worldwide. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of a social network-based PA interventio...

Objectives The main objective was to systematically map evidence regarding the emergence of health inequalities in individuals aged 16–24 years during school-to-work and school-to-university transition (STWT). Second, we aimed to summarise the evidence on potential effects of contextual and compositional characteristics of specific institutional co...

Regular physical activity (PA) is of central importance for healthy aging and has a well-known impact on helping older adults maintain their cognitive and physical health. Thus, we aimed to compare the effectiveness of two physical activity interventions primarily conducted at home (print-based or web-based vs. web-based plus the use of an activity...

Background: Students are a vulnerable group for the indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly their mental health. This paper examined the cross-national variation in students' depressive symtoms and whether this can be related to the various protective measures implemented in response to the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. M...

Research is still lacking regarding the question as to how programs to promote healthy ageing should be organized in order to increase acceptance and thus effectiveness. For older adults, ecological factors, such as physical distance to program sites, might predict participation and retention. Thus, the key aim of this analysis was to examine these...

Research is still lacking regarding the question as to how programs to promote healthy aging should be organized in order to increase acceptance and thus effectiveness. For older adults, ecological factors, such as physical distance to program sites, might predict participation and retention. Thus, the key aim of this analysis was to examine these...

Background By explaining the development of health inequalities, eco-social theories highlight the importance of social environments that children are embedded in. The most important environment during early childhood is the family, as it profoundly influences children’s health through various characteristics. These include family processes, family...

Despite the proximity of both countries, Danes and Germans differ in the level of trust in their government. This may play a role with respect to the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students. This study investigated the association between trust in governmental regulations, trust in university regulations, risk perceptions,...

Objectives To synthesise the evidence on the role of compositional or contextual characteristics of schools in the association between students' socioeconomic position and their health in primary and secondary education in developed economies. Design Scoping review. We included studies examining the role of at least one school or class characteris...

The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant psychological impact at the population level and fear of infection is one of the stressors involved. The study aimed to examine fear of infection and associations with university students’ depressive symptoms, substance use, and social contacts during the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany in May 2020. A cross-sect...

Wir, das „PROMOTE“-Team, sind Teil des AEQUIPA- Präventionsforschungsnetzwerkes. Unser Ziel ist es, seit dem Start des Projekts im Jahr 2015, Erkenntnisse zur Primärprävention für ein gesundes Altern zu erlangen. Ein Schwerpunkt unseres Projektes lag auf der Entwicklung und Verbreitung von gebrauchsfertigen Instrumenten und Arbeitshilfen zur Förder...

BACKGROUND Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits such as fewer depressive symptoms. Little is known about whether and how web- and print-based PA interventions work in comparison to a waiting list control group, especially in older individuals. OBJECTIVE Are interventions delivered in a web- or print mode effective with regard...

Background Physical activity (PA) is associated with benefits, such as fewer depressive symptoms and loneliness. Web- and print-based PA interventions can help older individuals accordingly. Objective We aimed to test the following research questions: Do PA interventions delivered in a web- or print-based mode improve self-reported PA stage of chan...

Background: Previous findings suggest that university students are at an elevated risk to experience financial hardship and to suffer from depressive symptoms. This vulnerability may have substantially increased during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic which might have affected students' socio-economic situation but possibly also their...

A global target of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to reduce physical inactivity among all adults and adolescents by approximately fifteen percent by 2030. Social media could have an impact in this effort because of its enormous reach, potentially addressing underserved populations in need for physical activity (PA) interventions. This scopi...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Regelmäßige körperliche Aktivität ist von zentraler Bedeutung für gesundes Altern. Allerdings halten in Deutschland weniger als ein Viertel der ab 65-Jährigen die Aktivitätsempfehlungen der Weltgesundheitsorganisation ein. Ziel der Arbeit In zwei Studienphasen (PROMOTE I und II) wurden web- und print-basierte Programme...

Background During early childhood, families have a crucial impact on children's health behaviour, health, and development (bhd). However, a family's socioeconomic position (SEP) determines both the parental behaviour, living conditions, and child health. To understand how family characteristics may influence the development of health inequalities,...

Objective: Selective study dropout limits manifestation and detection of intervention effects and is a major challenge in behavioral intervention studies. Engaging in health-risk behaviors might make individuals especially dropout-vulnerable. Thus, this theory-based study’s aim was to identify health-related lifestyle profiles affecting dropout in...

Objectives: In the COVID-19 pandemic, critical health literacy (CHL-P) has been proposed as a means of addressing issues of complexity, uncertainty, and urgency. Our study aimed to identify CHL-P clusters among university students in Germany and to analyze associations with potential determinants. Methods: In May 2020, students at four German unive...

BACKGROUND Despite the crucial role of regular physical activity (PA) for preventing chronic non-communicable diseases, fewer than half of older adults in Germany engage in the recommended levels of endurance training. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare acceptance and effectiveness of two interventions (web- vs. print-based) for PA pro...

Background: Results of previous studies examining the impact of the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic in 2003 on university students' mental well-being indicated severe mental health consequences. It is unclear how the current COVID-19 pandemic and the changes in study conditions due to federal regulations affected mental well-being in the German student populat...

Unser Ziel ist es, seit dem Start des Projekts im Jahr 2015, Erkenntnisse zur Primärprävention für ein gesundes Altern zu erlangen. Ein Schwerpunkt unseres Projektes lag auf der Entwicklung und Verbreitung von gebrauchsfertigen Instrumenten und Arbeitshilfen zur Förderung körperlicher Aktivität. Einerseits wurde ein gruppenbasiertes Bewegungsprogr...

Background Reducing inequalities in physical activity (PA) and PA-associated health outcomes is a priority for public health. Interventions to promote PA may reduce inequalities, but may also unintentionally increase them. Thus, there is a need to analyze equity-specific intervention effects. However, the potential for analyzing equity-specific eff...

Tobacco and cannabis use, alcohol consumption and inactivity are health risk behaviors (HRB) of crucial importance for health and wellbeing. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ engagement in HRB has yet received limited attention. We investigated whether HRB changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessed factors associated w...

Background Preschool teachers function as role models for children and play an important role in health behavior change interventions targeting children.Objective To examine levels of health literacy (HL) and status of preschool teachers, as well as lifestyle changes during participation in the 12-month intervention “JolinchenKids—fit and healthy i...

Zusammenfassung Der Konsum von nicht-verschriebenen aber verschreibungspflichtigen Mitteln zur akademischen Leistungssteigerung (NVVML) und von Schlaf- und Beruhigungsmitteln (NVVSB) unter Studierenden ist ein bedeutendes Public Health-Problem. Im Rahmen der INSIST-Studie berichteten 3,7% der Studierenden aus acht Hochschulen in Deutschland jemals...

Background: To evaluate a multicomponent health promotion program targeting preschoolers' physical activity (PA). Methods: PA of children from 23 German daycare facilities (DFs; 13 intervention DFs, 10 control DFs) was measured via accelerometry at baseline and after 12 months. Children's sedentary time, light PA, and moderate to vigorous PA wer...

Hintergrund: Im Zuge der anhaltenden Zunahme der Lebenserwartung ist die Erhaltung gesunder Lebensjahre durch regelmäßige körperliche Aktivität und der damit verbundenen niedrigeren Morbiditätsraten ein Zukunfts- und Schwerpunktthema der Public Health-Forschung. Die Frage, wie beispielsweise Bewegungsangebote zur Förderung von gesundem Altern für...

Abstract Background It remains unclear how physical activity (PA) interventions need to be designed to reach older adults and to be widely accepted in this target group. The aim of this study was to assess the acceptance of a web-based PA program, including individual intervention components as well as relevant contextual factors, and to specify re...

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common condition in women of reproductive age. A previous app-based study undertaken by our group demonstrated that a smartphone app supporting self-acupressure introduced by a health care professional can reduce menstrual pain.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common condition in women of reproductive age. A previous app-based study undertaken by our group demonstrated that a smartphone app supporting self-acupressure introduced by a health care professional can reduce menstrual pain. Objective: This study aims to evaluate whether a specific smartphone app is effecti...

Background: Despite known health benefits of physical activity (PA), less than half of the population of older adults in Germany currently reach the PA recommendations of the World Health Organization regarding endurance training and less than a third for strength training. The aim of this study is to investigate implementation and effectiveness o...

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the multi-component health promotion program, JolinchenKids - fit and healthy in daycare, designed to promote physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and mental wellbeing among 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers. Methods: For this cluster controlled trial, 62 daycare facilities (DFs) from thirteen...

Background and aims: The use of diabetes apps for self-management may be related to improvements in clinical and behavioral outcomes of diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of diabetes app use on key self-care behavior domains: physical activity, diet, foot care, and blood glucose monitoring. Materials and methods: Between...

Introduction: We aimed to determine self-care practice and to investigate the relationship between diabetes app use and other factors with self-care behaviour. Methods: From November 2017-March 2018, we conducted a web-based cross-sectional survey. Responses were collected using Facebook groups, targeted Facebook advertisements and diabetes onlin...

Background: Web-based interventions can effectively promote behavior change regarding physical activity (PA). There is limited research on differential intervention effects on various types of PA and on the extent to which baseline stages of change (based on the Health Action Process Approach) relate to the effects of different web-components. Meth...

Reducing social inequalities in physical activity (PA) has become a priority for public health. However, evidence concerning the impact of interventions on inequalities in PA is scarce. This study aims to develop and test the application of a strategy for re-analyzing equity-specific effects of existing PA intervention studies in middle-aged and ol...

Background: Web-based, theory-driven interventions effectively promote older adults' physical activity. Social-cognitive mechanisms of their effect on stage of change need to be further researched. Methods: Older adults were randomly allocated to intervention group 1 (10-week online physical activity program), intervention group 2 (same program...

Regular physical activity (PA) is of central importance for healthy ageing. However, in Germany, only 42% of older adults currently reach the PA recommendations of the World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two web-based interventions on PA in adults aged 65-75 years living in Northwestern Germany compared to...

BACKGROUND Despite the known health benefits of physical activity (PA), less than half and less than one-third of older adults in Germany reach the PA recommendations for endurance training and strength training, respectively, of the World Health Organization. The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation and effectiveness over the cou...

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common condition in women of reproductive age. A previous app-based study undertaken by our group demonstrated that a smartphone app supporting self-acupressure introduced by a health care professional can reduce menstrual pain. Objective: This study aims to evaluate whether a specific smartphone app is effe...

Research suggests that online interventions preventing risky substance use can improve student health. There is an increasing interest in transferring evidence-based online programs into university health promotion practice. However, little is known about how to best tailor the implementation process to capacities and context of individual universi...

A Corrigendum on Popular Diabetes Apps and the Impact of Diabetes App Use on Self-Care Behaviour: A Survey Among the Digital Community of Persons With Diabetes on Social Media by Kebede, M. M., and Pischke, C. R. (2019). Front. Endocrinol. 10:135. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00135 In the original article, there was an error. The diabetes app “mySugr”...

Introduction: This study aimed to identify popular diabetes applications (apps) and to investigate the association of diabetes app use and other factors with cumulative self-care behavior. Methods: From November 2017 to March 2018, we conducted a web-based survey with persons 18 years of age and above. We recruited respondents via diabetes Facebook...

Background: This study investigated the determinants (with a special emphasis on the role of diabetes app use, use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, and self-care behavior) of glycemic control of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: A web-based survey was conducted using diabetes Facebook groups, online patient-forums, an...

Aims Pooling the effect sizes of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from continuous outcomes, such as glycated hemoglobin level (HbA1c), is an important method in evidence syntheses. However, due to challenges related to baseline imbalances and pre/post correlations, simple analysis of change scores (SACS) and simple analysis of final values (SAFV...

Background: Regular moderate to vigorous physical activity is essential for maintaining health and preventing the onset of chronic diseases. Both global rates of smartphone ownership and the market for physical activity and fitness apps have grown rapidly in recent years. The use of physical activity and fitness apps may assist the general populati...

Due to the prevention law which was passed in Germany in 2015, there is an increasing interest in disseminating evidence-based preventive interventions in real-life settings, including programs for the prevention of risky substance use in the university setting. However, little is known about how to best tailor the implementation process to context...

Background International studies have examined different aspects of attitudes toward the use of evidence-informed applications (apps) for physical activity (PA) promotion among adults aged 50 years and above. In Germany, little is known about attitudes towards such apps in this population. Objectives The aim of the focus groups conducted with smar...

Background Smartphone applications (apps) represent an opportunity to promote physical activity (PA). Objectives To explore (1) the extent and sociodemographic differences in utilization of PA and fitness apps, (2) associations between technology acceptance and competence and PA and fitness app use, (3) associations between PA and fitness app use,...

Background: Digital interventions may assist patients with type 2 diabetes in improving glycemic control. We aimed to synthesize effect sizes of digital interventions on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and to identify effective features of digital interventions targeting patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: MED...

Introduction: The use of non-prescribed prescription sedatives and sleeping pills (NPPSSP) among university students has been described as an important public health issue. However, the impact of perceived social norms on students' use and attitudes towards use of NPPSSP is still unclear. Our aim was to investigate whether perceptions of peer use...

Objective: Digital interventions may assist patients with type 2 diabetes with improving glycaemic control. We aimed to synthesize effect sizes of digital interventions on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and to identify effective features of digital interventions targeting patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Research Design and Met...

Background: Regular moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) is essential for maintaining health and preventing the onset of chronic diseases. Both, global rates of smartphone ownership and the market for PA and fitness applications (apps) have grown rapidly in recent years. The use of PA and fitness apps may assist the general population in re...

BACKGROUND Regular moderate to vigorous physical activity is essential for maintaining health and preventing the onset of chronic diseases. Both global rates of smartphone ownership and the market for physical activity and fitness apps have grown rapidly in recent years. The use of physical activity and fitness apps may assist the general populatio...