Applied research in the faculty

Social change requires answers to topical issues of health care and social policy whose foundations lie in the social sciences. These issues include demographic trends, quality assurance in social care and health care facilities, unemployment, migration processes and social safeguards for high-risk social situations.

The faculty undertakes research projects in collaboration with regional public, non-commercial and commercial facilities and services to develop pioneering action plans.

The funding for the projects undertaken by the professors usually comes not from the faculty, but from third-party research funding.

Health and social issues - multidisciplinary approach

The broad disciplinary approach adopted by the faculty is crucial to ensuring that problem situations and fields of work are considered not only from the perspective of one single academic discipline. On the contrary, the specific inclusion of different disciplinary perspectives allows a comprehensive analysis to be performed. Support from and collaboration with colleagues promotes the transdisciplinary development of innovative action plans. The complexity of problematic social and health care situations can thus be taken into account.

The linking of different disciplinary and methodological perspectives is directed chiefly towards the real-life entanglement of social problems and issues of health and a healthy way of life and healthy living conditions. Solutions to the problem can thus be considered from the perspectives of both aspects.

Further factors which are expressly included are:

• gender issues
• intercultural development and
• the economic perspective.