Michel Wensing

• Doctorate (Ph.D.)
• Professor at Heidelberg University

A reliable estimation of required resources is essential for sound research. So far, there have only been a few studies on researchers’ time investment in qualitative studies. The aim of this study, therefore, was to provide an empirical account of the estimation of timescales of qualitative analysis. In this methodological study, time expenditure...

Background: There is a growing emphasis on what autistic individuals need to flourish. A similar trend is observed in general mental health services through personal recovery approaches, which aim for a meaningful life and increasing well-being rather than merely a remission of symptoms of psychological conditions. One practical application of this...

Introduction As social relationships are intertwined with mental health recovery, it is important to address a client’s social support network during mental health interventions. This seems even more important for autistic clients, because research suggests they have on average smaller networks and experience more loneliness than non-autistic indiv...

Background/Objectives: Long COVID specialized outpatient clinics (sOCs), which are part of the recommended long COVID care, usually face high demand. Few studies focused on the experience of care in such facilities in Germany. This study investigated how patients experience care in a sOC at a German university hospital. Methods: Semi-structured int...

Background Physical activity has been shown to be beneficial for people diagnosed with cancer. MOVE-ONKO aims at implementing a new multiprofessional care pathway in 3 large regions in Germany at the interface of oncological treatment and exercise therapy for cancer patients. The related study aims to evaluate the implementation processes and patie...

Background Continuity of care (COC) refers to the sustained quality of healthcare over time and is a central element of effective general practice. High levels of COC have been associated with improved health outcomes, including reduced risks of hospitalisation. Previous research demonstrated that participation in Germany’s “general practitioner-ce...

Background Healthcare systems globally are confronted with a shortage of nurses. Various strategies to address this have been applied, including active recruitment of internationally qualified nurses. Nurse managers may have a central role in supporting workplace integration. This study aimed to explore how domestically qualified nurses and interna...

BACKGROUND Although the integration of self-monitored patient data into mental health care offers potential for advancing personalised approaches, its application in clinical practice remains largely underexplored. Capturing individuals' mental health outside the therapy room using Experience Sampling Methods (ESM) may bridge this gap by supporting...

The number of long-term ventilated patients in out-of-hospital intensive care (OIC) in Germany has risen sharply in recent years. Due to financial disincentives, structural care deficits and resource bottlenecks, there is an increasing risk of inadequate care. In 2020, the Intensive Care and Rehabilitation Strengthening Act (IPReG) was therefore pa...

Background: Chronic non-cancer-related pain is an independent condition with a multicausal genesis. Guidelines highlight the need for holistic treatment based on the bio-psycho-social model. While prescribing medication is common, it remains unclear how and to what extent non-pharmacological interventions are considered and recommended in general p...

Research shows heterogeneity in experiences of social contact and social networks in autistic adults. In this study, we aim to identify clusters of social support networks and investigate associations of clusters with mastery, quality of life, and autism characteristics. Autistic adults (N = 381; 45.7% female) aged between 30 and 90 years completed...

Background and Objective: Approximately 7.4% of the German population matched the criteria of impeding, chronic non-cancer-related pain in 2014. Guidelines emphasize the importance of a holistic treatment approach. The project RELIEF aims to develop and evaluate a multifaceted case-management intervention to foster the holistic management of chroni...

Background: Within the project “Ulcus Cruris Care”, a disease management intervention to improve general practice care for patients with venous leg ulcer was developed, comprising online teaching for practice teams, standardized patient education, and case management. Implementation of the intervention was piloted and evaluated via a process evalua...

Background Decision aids (DAs) have been proposed as tools to empower patients in decision‐making. However, implementing DA for decisions in advanced cancer is challenging. This study focuses on perspectives of oncologists and other healthcare providers on the hindering and facilitating factors for implementing a customizable DA. This DA is designe...

Background and Objective: Approximately 7.4% of the German population matched the criteria of impeding, chronic non-cancer-related pain in 2014. Guidelines emphasize the importance of a holistic treatment approach. The project RELIEF aims to develop and evaluate a multifaceted case-management intervention to foster holistic management of chronic pa...

Chronic non-cancer-related pain is an independent condition with a multi-causal genesis. Guide-lines highlight the need for holistic treatment based on the bio-psycho-social model. While pre-scribing medication is common, it remains unclear how and to what extent non-pharmacological interventions are considered and recommended in general practice p...

Zusammenfassung Krisen, wie die COVID-19-Pandemie und der Klimawandel, stellen große Herausforderungen für die gesundheitliche Versorgung dar. Ärztliche Praxen sind zentral in der Versorgung von vulnerablen Personengruppen und sollten daher optimal auf aktuelle und zukünftige Krisen vorbereitet sein. Durch die Entwicklung von Qualitätsindikatoren i...

Background In recent years, health systems worldwide have been confronted with several crises such as natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic, that affected lives and health of many people. In light of waves of infections and heat, climate change is considered to be the biggest health threat of the 21st century. Strengthening individual and orga...

This editorial updates the scope and submission expectations of Implementation Science and Implementation Science Communications . We refine our protocol publishing policies and set out new expectations for reporting studies describing determinants and their relationship with implementation outcomes. Our central focus remains on the implementation...

Objective To evaluate whether an integrated mental health video consultation approach (PROVIDE model) can improve symptoms compared with usual care in adults with depression and anxiety disorders attending primary care. Design Assessor masked, multicentre, randomised controlled trial (PROVIDE-C). Setting In 29 primary care practices in Germany...

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a type of problem-based learning. While IBL aims at reflecting the work of practicing researchers, only some students will pursue an academic career. We therefore designed a course that provides opportunities for IBL by applying participant observation to internship work experience inside and outside academia. Using...

Background Chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) is a frequent reason for counseling in general practice. Current German guidelines emphasize its biopsychosocial etiology and the importance of self-care and nonpharmacological treatment strategies such as education, physical and social activity, and psychological approaches. Comprehensive assessments are ne...

BACKGROUND Chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) is a frequent reason for counseling in general practice. Current German guidelines emphasize its biopsychosocial etiology and the importance of self-care and nonpharmacological treatment strategies such as education, physical and social activity, and psychological approaches. Comprehensive assessments are ne...

This position paper by the international IMMERSE consortium reviews the evidence of a digital mental health solution based on Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) for advancing person-centered mental health care and outlines a research agenda for implementing innovative digital mental health tools into routine clinical practice. ESM is a structure...

Background Geriatric rehabilitation aims at increasing physical and social activity and maintaining the functional reserve of older people. However, the continuity of geriatric rehabilitation in the outpatient setting is limited due to a lack of structured aftercare programs. In order to overcome this, a three-month multimodal home-based interventi...

Background Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and periodontitis share common risk factors and influence one another. However, primary care and oral health care continue to operate separate from each other and fail to synchronize care for patients with T2DM and periodontitis. The purpose of this practice-based trial is to evaluate the implementation of...

Background Structured aftercare programs are implemented to facilitate the transition from rehabilitation centers to patients’ home environments. Taking the program GeRas as an example, this paper aims to evaluate the influence of patient-related factors on the implementation of the geriatric aftercare program GeRas from patients' and providers' pe...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Jüngste Analysen zeigen, dass Versorgungsorganisationen in der Versorgungsforschung in Deutschland häufig in erster Linie als Studiensetting betrachtet werden, ohne deren komplexen organisationalen Charakter in vollem Umfang zu berücksichtigen, weder theoretisch noch methodisch. Daher wurde eine Initiative gestartet, um...

Background: Germany has seen a significant increase in opioid prescriptions, particularly for high-potency opioids, despite limited evidence of their long-term efficacy for chronic non-tumor pain. 87% of these prescriptions are written by general practitioners. The high classified S3-LONTS guideline provides comprehensive recommendations for respon...

Background Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of digital tools for delivering person-centred mental health care. Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM), a structured diary technique for capturing moment-to-moment variation in experience and behaviour in service users’ daily life, reflects a particularly promising avenue for impleme...

Background Lifestyle-related risk factors can increase complications during pregnancy and negatively impact the health of a mother and her child. Knowledge about these compliances among many pregnant women and women of childbearing age is lacking. In the study AOK-Family + , we propose the evaluation of a newly developed counselling intervention. T...

Background: The PRiVENT study aims to reduce the number of long-term ventilated patients by improving interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professionals. To assess the current state of interprofessional cooperation and job satisfaction in intensive care units, a written survey was conducted among service providers from four clusters, ea...

Purpose: Mobility impairments are a common consequence of stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI). Assistive products (APs) such as wheelchairs are often needed for activities and participation. The aim of the study was to explore the provision and use of APs in Germany and to identify associated factors underlying this practice. Materials and method...

Introduction Worldwide, the primary care sector played a key role in coping with the challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Methods The aim of this study was to explore the resilience of the German primary healthcare system during the second wave of the pandemic from the perspective of identified interface stakeholders, i.e., representatives of ho...

Background PRiVENT (PRevention of i nvasive VENTilation) is an evaluation of a bundle of interventions aimed at the prevention of long-term invasive mechanical ventilation. One of these elements is an e-learning course for healthcare professionals to improve weaning expertise. The aim of our analysis is to examine the implementation of the course i...

Background Recent years have seen a growing interest in the use of digital tools for delivering person-centred mental health care. Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM), a structured diary technique for capturing moment-to-moment variation in experience and behaviour in service users’ daily life, reflects a particularly promising avenue for impleme...

Vor dem Hintergrund der umfangreichen Evidenz für das Potenzial von onkologischer Sport- und Bewegungstherapie als unterstützende Maßnahme vor, während und nach einer Krebserkrankung/-behandlung wird zunehmend die Integration von Bewegungsförderung und -therapie als supportive Maßnahme in die interdisziplinäre onkologische Behandlung gefordert 1 2...

High continuity in primary care has positive impact on the health of patients and populations, but the traditional long-term relationship of a patient with one specific primary care provider is no longer given. Insight into the underlying mechanisms of continuity in primary care can help to design effective teams and networks of healthcare provider...

High continuity in primary care has positive impact on the health of patients and populations, but the traditional long-term relationship of a patient with one specific primary care provider is no longer given. Insight into the underlying mechanisms of continuity in primary care can help to design effective teams and networks of healthcare provider...

Background: In recent years, health systems worldwide were confronted with several crises such as natural disasters or the Covid-19 pandemic that affected lives and health of many people. In light of occurring waves of infections and heat, climate change is considered to be the biggest health threat of the 21st century. Strengthening individual and...

Background Climate change is seen as the biggest health threat of the twenty-first century. Making outpatient medical practices resilient is therefore crucial to protect vulnerable groups and maintain quality of care. Awareness is a precondition for action. This study aims to explore awareness (knowledge, experience and attention) of climate change...

Background Post-traumatic stress has been identified as a frequent long-term complication in survivors of critical illnesses after sepsis. Little is known about long-term trajectories of post-traumatic stress and potentially modifiable risk factors following the ICU stay. Study objective was to explore and compare different clinical trajectories of...

Background Long-term invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a major burden for those affected and causes high costs for the health care system. Early risk assessment is a prerequisite for the best possible support of high-risk patients during the weaning process. We aimed to identify risk factors for long-term IMV within 96 h (h) after the onset...

Background Geriatric rehabilitation aims to maintain the functional reserves of older adults in order to optimize social participation and prevent disability. After discharge from inpatient geriatric rehabilitation, patients are at high risk for decreased physical capacity, increased vulnerability, and limitations in mobility. As a result, ageing i...

Background “Core values” help to guide practice of health care delivery. The core values of general practice are described in the European definition of general practice by WONCA, e.g. a holistic, comprehensive and continuous care. They may be associated with the idea that the general practitioner is the owner of the practice rather than an employe...

Introduction A wide range of factors influence coordination and continuity of care. The aim of this study was to explore how management continuity of cardiovascular-related ambulatory care is influenced by the following network characteristics: presence of a case coordinator, network reciprocity, network composition and team climate. Methods This...

Background Studies on care networks of home-dwelling older adults often focus on network composition. However, looking at network mechanisms (negotiation, navigation and contagion) can be helpful to improve the support generated by the care network. A European study on diabetes patients identified network types based on interaction, which can be be...

Background: The PRiVENT project aims to improve the care of invasively ventilated patients and to reduce the number of out-of-hospital long-term ventilated patients. PRiVENT offers intensive care units the opportunity to exchange information with experts from specialized weaning centers in interprofessional weaning boards and weaning consults and...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Das Konzept der Versorgungsassistentin in der Hausarztpraxis (VERAH) wurde entwickelt, um nicht-ärztliches Personal stärker in die hausärztliche Versorgung einzubinden und somit dem steigenden Versorgungbedarf und der gleichzeitigen Verknappung von ärztlichem Personal zu begegnen. VERAHs werden zunehmend auch im software...

Introduction Interprofessional training wards (IPTW) aim to improve undergraduates' interprofessional collaborative practice of care. Little is known about the effects of the different team tasks on IPTW as measured by external assessment. In Heidelberg, Germany, four nursing and four medical undergraduates (= one cohort) care for up to six patient...

Purpose: When mobility deficits persist after stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI), outpatient neurorehabilitation services are required. This study aimed to explore the current practice of German outpatient neurorehabilitation services and identify factors associated to this practice. Methods: This was a qualitative observational study in which s...

Implementation researchers often find themselves as research partners in practice improvement projects, clinical trials or other applied health studies. The implementation science component in these projects can be described as supportive, descriptive or explanatory. This commentary reflects on the potential contributions of such projects to implem...

Valid and clear presentation of research findings is an important aspect of health services research. This chapter presents recommendations and examples for the presentation of quantitative findings, focusing on tables and graphs. The recommendations in this field are largely experience-based. Tables and graphs should be tailored to the needs of th...

Survey studies use questionnaires in samples of individuals (e.g. patients or healthcare providers) to measure phenomena in the world. The collected data are structured, which facilitates quantitative data-analysis. Typically, a sample (rather than all members) of a study population is included. Generalisation of findings to the study population is...

A scientific theory is a set of ideas that coherently describes selected phenomena in the world. Theories in health services research align with empirical research data and aim at providing interpretations and explanations of findings. Theory can be practically used in research to formulate research questions, derive measures, develop interventions...

Health services research focuses on a broad spectrum of problems and challenges in healthcare. These topics can be categorised in four fields: (a) patients’ perspectives, (b) healthcare providers, (c) organisation of healthcare and (d) healthcare performance. Patients’ perspectives influence their self-management of health and diseases, utilisation...

Most health services research is based on structured measures, particularly questionnaires, that facilitate quantitative analysis. To arrive at scientifically sound results, these measures should be valid and reliable regarding the concepts or phenomena to be measured. Although there are many validated measures available, studies may require new to...

Patients receive healthcare from various healthcare providers such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Across time and space, realms of and relations between healthcare professions show many differences (e.g. the professional autonomy of registered nurses). Variation, e.g. in respect to vocational training, appro...

Scientific integrity or research integrity builds the backbone of good research practice. In health services research (HSR), there is no binding and shared set of rules for scientific integrity, but many principles and guidelines for science in general and health research more specially apply to this field. Surveys among researchers suggest that th...

This chapter focuses on the evaluation of the outcomes of interventions in health services research. The study designs for outcomes evaluation can be globally classified as experimental or observational. Experimental designs (i.e. randomised trials) are best for the assessment of the effectiveness of interventions, that is, the ‘pure effects’ as co...

Patient empowerment, a classic topic of health services research, places patient perspectives on health and healthcare in the centre of interest. Many studies have examined patient–provider communication and patients’ experiences in healthcare. Relatively novel interventions for patient empowerment are as follows: education of lay people to critica...

The utilisation of research findings in healthcare practice and policy is a central purpose of health services research. Strategies for dissemination of research results must therefore be considered in every research project. In health services research, such activities go beyond scientific publications and may include, for instance, lectures for v...

Health services research (HSR) aims to contribute to the improvement of healthcare by addressing challenges in real-world healthcare settings. It is centred around the values, needs and interests of people who are (potential) users of healthcare (i.e. individuals and populations). HSR complements life sciences and clinical research as a third pilla...

Social networks research has gained popularity in health services research in recent years. Social networks are one way to conceptualise and examine the role of social context in shaping phenomena. The connections between individuals (e.g. patients or healthcare providers) have been examined with a view on their structure, determinants and conseque...

Interventions in health services research cover a variety of goal-orientated activities, including treatments of patients, healthcare delivery models and health system reforms. The development of interventions is usually based on a mix of several ingredients, including the analysis of real-world problems and needs, previously performed scientific r...

Resources for healthcare are scarce, so choices need to be made about how to get the best possible health outcomes given the available resources. Economic evaluation is often integrated into broader evaluation studies (e.g. randomised trials of interventions), in which specific measures of costs and economically relevant outcomes are added. The bui...

Process evaluations aim to provide insight into how and why interventions have impact on outcomes or not. Methods of observational research are used to explore processes and factors related to the delivery and impact of interventions. Examination of the fidelity and adaptation of interventions (‘has it been delivered as planned?’) is the core of pr...

Textbook and introduction to health services research with four sections: 1) Introduction to Health Services Research, 2) Principles of Health Services Research, 3) Research Methods in Health Services Research and 4) Emerging Topics in Health Services Research.

Objective: The VISION intervention is a manualized short-term treatment for people with somatic symptom disorder, integrated into the primary care and delivered by psychotherapists via video consultations. As an innovative technology-based approach, the intervention was most recently piloted in a randomized feasibility trial. During the qualitativ...

Background:Climate change is seen as the biggest health threat of the 21st century. Making primary care institutions resilient is therefore crucial to protect vulnerable groups and maintain quality of care. Awareness is a precondition for action. This study aims to explore awareness (knowledge, experience and attention) of climate change adaptation...

Background Lifestyle-related risk factors can increase complications during pregnancy and negatively impact the health of a mother and her child. Knowledge about these compliances among many pregnant women and women of childbearing age is lacking. In the study AOK-Family+, we propose the evaluation of a newly developed counselling intervention. The...

Diese Ausgabe des Versorgungs-Reports widmet sich schwerpunktmäßig der Bedeutung von medizinischen Leitlinien in der Gesundheitsversorgung. Leitlinien geben den Behandelnden diagnostische und therapeutische Empfehlungen an die Hand. Sie werden nach systematischen und evidenzbasierten Kriterien entwickelt und zielen darauf ab, die Versorgungsqualitä...

Introduction: Strong primary care has positive impact on patients' and population health, and high continuity of care is one of its hallmarks. Insight into the underlying mechanisms is limited and research on this topic requires measures of primary care outputs, which are states that mediate between processes and outcomes of primary care. Areas c...

Background Due to the nature of their work, general practitioners (GPs) need to be up to date with evidence in various medical domains. While much synthesised research evidence is easily accessible nowadays, in practice, the time to search for and review this evidence proposes a challenge. In German primary care, the knowledge infrastructure is rat...

Background: Interprofessional training wards (IPTW) can contribute to the development of interprofessional competencies. In order to evaluate the acquisition of competencies, instruments are needed that record both team performance and individual competencies in the clinical teaching setting in third-party assessment. This paper describes the Inte...

Zielstellung (Purpose): Die multizentrische Interventions-Studie PRiVENT (Prävention invasiver Ventilation) evaluiert Methoden, um die Zahl langzeitbeatmeter Patienten zu reduzieren. Ein Ziel der Intervention ist es, die Zusammenarbeit der involvierten Gesundheitsprofessionen zu verbessern. Um den Status quo der interprofessionellen Zusammenarbeit...

Within primary care, acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are the most common reason for prescribing antibiotics. The aim of the CHANGE-3 study was to investigate how antibiotic prescribing for non-complicated ARTIs can be reduced to a reasonable level. The trial was conducted as a prospective study consisting of a regional public awareness i...

Aim: Examine perceptions of nurses who obtained a recognised nursing qualification in Germany about the integration of internationally qualified nurses (IQN) in the German nursing workforce. Design: Qualitative interview study. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 21 state-qualified nurses who had graduated from a German nursing program we...

Fragestellung: Eine invasive Langzeitbeatmung beeinflusst die Lebensqualität von Patienten:innen sowie auch deren (pflegenden) Angehörigen. Ziel des Projekts PRiVENT ist es daher, durch den Einsatz einer Mehrkomponentenintervention invasive Langzeitbeatmung zu vermeiden. In interprofessionellen Weaning-Boards und Weaning-Konsilen haben Intensivstat...

Background: Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a standard therapy for intensive care patients with respiratory failure. With increasing population age and multimorbidity, the number of patients who cannot be weaned from IMV increases, resulting in impaired quality of life and high costs. In addition, human resources are tied up in the care o...

Background Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a standard therapy for intensive care patients with respiratory failure. With increasing age and multimorbidity the number of patients rises, who cannot be weaned from IMV, leading to impaired quality of life and high costs. In addition, human resources are tied up in the care of those patients....

Introduction: In the context of a GP-based care programme, we implemented an admission, discharge and follow-up programme. Description: The VESPEERA programme consists of three sets of components: pre-admission interventions, in-hospital interventions and post-discharge interventions. It was aimed at all patients with a hospital stay participati...