Outpatient healthcare in Germany faces significant challenges. In addition to issues of underprovision and overprovision, instances of inappropriate care are also evident. This is exemplified by the increasing tendency of individuals with minor health problems to visit hospital emergency departments or call for an ambulance, while the staff-to-patient ratio—for example, in obstetrics—can no longer be considered sustainable. The shortcomings of physician-centered care could, for instance, be mitigated by transferring competencies and responsibilities to Community Health Nurses (CHN), especially as the traditional general practice system is also reaching its limits. To date, no established professional field for CHN exists, and the influence of nursing professionals’ care competencies is often underestimated.

Furthermore, driven by demographic changes in the German population, there is a need to further develop the expanded assumption of competencies, responsibilities, and activities that were previously exclusive to physicians, by other health professions. In this regard, digital support formats such as telemedicine/tele-nursing are being trialed and are increasingly implemented. They constitute an important framework for the potential assumption of tasks formerly undertaken by physicians, and the need for research and evaluation in this field appears considerable. Additionally, there is a significant need for reform in the legal foundations underpinning this development—a process that should be accompanied by research from the involved health professional groups.

Finally, emergency care in disaster situations also appears to be poorly coordinated and under-resourced. A solely physician-led approach is likely insufficient. Past disasters in other countries have demonstrated that fully leveraging specialized nursing professionals is essential to meet care requirements. However, it is problematic that there is an egregious shortage of nursing staff; this should be countered by simultaneously improving remuneration, expanding independent areas of responsibility, and thereby increasing the attractiveness of the profession.

• The influence of Community Health Nurses (CHN) on the care reality of people with chronic illnesses and those acutely ill in rural areas
• The influence of physician-led care on the care tasks of CHN, and the development of interprofessional care structures utilizing CHN
• The influence of CHN on the inclusion of individuals with a migration background, who are socially disadvantaged or cognitively impaired, within the healthcare landscape
• The influence of CHN on health literacy and health behavior in the context of healthy choice
• Analysis of the share of payers within a CHN model in population care, including political prerequisites and the need for change
• The testing and implementation of CHN in outpatient care
• The influence of CHN’s care competencies and fields on pain or wound management as well as on neighborhood climate resilience
• Pain therapy as a complex form of care in acute and chronic nursing situations and the role of professional nursing in palliative pain management, particularly among critically affected groups such as children and adolescents, individuals with dementia, or those with mental health impairments
• Analysis of acute care structures with regard to their efficiency, including the interfaces and transitional organization between the different sectors in both directions (admission <-> discharge)
• Analysis of existing and emerging digital tools to enhance care structures in acute and long-term care (telemedicine/tele-nursing)
• The impact of climate-induced health issues on emergency care
• Disaster programs, disaster nursing, and accompanying research on the acceptance within German society of an expanded scope of responsibilities by professional nurses. Evaluative research on counseling and prevention concerning future climate events by professional nurses

For research and transfer activities in this research area, the following colleagues from EHB can be contacted:

• Feldhaus-Plumin, Erika (Chair of Health/Social Sciences): erika.feldhaus-plumin@eh-berlin.de
• Grieshop, Melita (Chair of Midwifery Science): melita.grieshop@eh-berlin.de
• Heinze, Cornelia (Chair of Nursing Science): cornelia.heinze@eh-berlin.de
• Lück, Sven (Chair of Medical Fundamentals): sven.lueck@eh-berlin.de
• Mauter, Daniel (Research Associate): daniel.mauter@eh-berlin.de

The following research and transfer projects have already been realized in this research area at EHB:

• Family Health Care and Risk Training (Grieshop)
• Interprofessional Teaching and Learning in Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Nursing (2013–2017, Heinze)
• Cohort Study on Quality of Life in Institutional Long-Term Care (2007–2011, Heinze)
• Cool Head Despite the Heat – A Pilot Study on Heat Protection in Daily Nursing Practice (2024, Heinze/Lück)
• Lifeworlds of People with Dementia and Turkish Migration Background (Feldhaus-Plumin)
• Palliative Care for People with Dementia-Related Changes and End-of-Life Pain Management (Feldhaus-Plumin)
• Prevalence Surveys on Selected Nursing Issues (2001–2011, Heinze)