HEALTH GEOGRAPHY AND SYSTEM THINKING
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  • Home
  • Members
  • PROJECTS
    • Syndromic CN-NL
    • IKIC
    • ILEG
    • Optimal@NRW
    • EMS future Germany
  • Living Lab Innovation in EMS
  • Publications
  • Students
  • Network
  • IGU
  • Contact
  • Members

About Us

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This multidisciplinary research team encompasses researchers from various backgrounds and has strong international connections. With proficiency in global health, environmental health, disease prevention and control, health geography, geographic information systems, policy research, (syndromic) health surveillance and healthcare innovations, our group is the embodiment of interdisciplinary research. Health is not an isolated affair, but is rooted in our surroundings and everything that affects our circumstances. We therefore study health issues from a system perspective. This means that we study health at all levels ranging from geopolitical trends and regional environmental indicators and policies, to local health system functioning and its health implications on the population and individual level. 
​In doing so, our team has a special focus on health geography and healthcare innovations. Both pillars allow for a hands-on approach to science. By spatiotemporally mapping health determinants we can visualise tendencies and inform policy decision-making. Our focus on healthcare innovations facilitates us to propose practical solutions to arising health challenges. We are strongly committed to working in close collaboration with stakeholders in the field, as problem-solving works best when those involved have trust in the proposed methods.

A system-thinking approach requires investigating health at both the local and international level. Regarding the latter, our international connections are vital to our team’s success. We have excellent relationships with research teams in Europe (Germany, France, Denmark, Portugal, the United Kingdom) and beyond (Brazil, China, India, New Zealand).

Topics we focus on can range from disaster preparedness and Concrete examples of our joint efforts can be found in the coordination of the IKIC (International Knowledge and Information Center in Public Safety) project, in our work concerning syndromic surveillance (research projects: European Emergency Data (EED) project, SIDARTHa, Triple S-AGE), and in research projects with a central focus on the environment. IKIC strives to improve resilience during crises and disasters in the Interreg EUregio Meuse-Rhine by training cross-border emergency service personnel, public health servants and citizens living in the border region.

Syndromic surveillance combines our knowledge of environmental health,  health geography, health systems, policy analysis, and health innovations into the development of real-time surveillance systems within the context of emergency medical services. Surveillance efforts may be useful in case of (un)expected peaks in emergency medical service demand and situational awareness in case of large-scale disasters or event management, and can be supplemented with AI and mapping solutions.
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Environmental research projects are predominantly carried out by our PhD students. Two examples of their projects include studying the impact of public awareness in low-carbon city transformations (environmental health), and sustainable fisheries (food security).
Our research team hence has a broad perspective and regards health as the result of complex interrelations. We are therefore well-equipped and uniquely positioned to address contemporary multi-faceted health issues in a globalising world. 
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