A warm welcome to you!

„I’m more interested in the future than in the past, because the future is where I intend to live.“ (Albert Einstein)

Dear colleagues and interested parties,

On behalf of the German Network for Health Services Research (DNVF), I would like to invite you to the 24th German Congress for Health Services Research (DKVF). This year, for organizational reasons, the congress will be held in Hamburg from the 22nd to 24th of September, from Monday to Wednesday. We are grateful to the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), who have stepped in at short notice to act as the local organizing committee. The congress will be held under the motto “Future competencies for a resilient healthcare system” and willshowcase new approaches and perspectives for the healthcare of the future in Germany.

Last year’s congress highlighted that our healthcare system must become more resilient to ensure good healthcare in the future, especially in light of the challenges posed by demographic change, digitalization, a shortage of skilled workers, climate change, pandemics, and armed conflicts.  

Together, we want to develop our future competencies for health and healthcare. We are therefore delighted to be shaping the DKVF together with renowned futurologists for the first time. By promoting our future competencies, we can not only increase the resilience of the healthcare system but also develop a proactive attitude towards future challenges that will enable us to find innovative solutions and create sustainable change. We cordially invite you to participate in developing future concepts for good healthcare and to derive viable solutions for a resilient healthcare system.

The DKVF 2025 focuses on five central themes, for which I sincerely invite you to submit your contributions:

Strand 1: Megatrends
Megatrends affect healthcare in many ways. The focus here is on future-oriented contributions that address the effects of demographic change, the shortage of skilled workers (particularly in nursing), working in multi-professional teams, and cross-sectoral, regional care. Other topics include innovative approaches to the “gender shift” among caregivers, the participation of diverse populations, climate change and adaptation to its consequences, resilience to pandemics, economic crises, and geopolitical conflicts, as well as challenges and solutions for care in the context of migration, integration, and inclusion.

Strand 2: Digital Transformation - Digital Health
The digital transformation offers tremendous potential for healthcare. Papers dealing with artificial intelligence (AI), digital health applications (DiGA), and digital care applications (DiPA) are just as much in demand here as abstracts on electronic patient records (ePA), research data infrastructure, and other key resources for sustainable healthcare.

Strand 3: Evidence-based Healthcare
Health is a key political and future issue. Evidence-based healthcare and healthcare policy are essential in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for the population. Topics here include the use of healthcare-related data for benefit assessment, paths towards “learning health systems”, and mental health, as well as models and specific measures for prevention, inclusion, and participation.

Strand 4: Methods of Health Services Research and Futurology
The methods of health services research and futurology are diverse and constantly evolving. In this strand, contributions on causal inference, qualitative methods, mixed methods, and new developments in the field of register research etc. can be submitted. In addition, workshops on futures research methods such as Future Lab and possible scenarios are offered. The methods presented offer valuable tools for developing forward-looking solutions to the complex challenges facing health services research.

Strand 5: Shaping the Future
Completed, ongoing, and newly accepted projects, including those from the Innovation Fund and other promising project ideas that have just been launched, will be presented and discussed. Young talent plays a central role in this, and we are once again looking forward to inspiring contributions, e.g. as part of the Science Slam. Together, we want to set the course for innovative and sustainable healthcare.

I hope to see many exciting contributions from you, which we can discuss together in Hamburg and develop into inspiring visions of the future and concrete solutions. Positive outlooks not only open up new opportunities but also provide guidance, create emotional support, and promote the willingness to actively participate in shaping changes in the healthcare system.

Let's shape the future together.

Yours

Prof. Dr. Horst Christian Vollmar, MPH
Congress President