Centre for Public Health, Department of General Practice and Family Medicine
The Medical University of Vienna (MUW) is one of the most important top-level research institutions in Europe and provides Europe’s largest hospital, the AKH in Vienna, with its entire medical staff. In its structuring and alignment MUW relies on the “triple track” strategy (research, education and patient care). This enables medical science to respond flexibly to the continually changing demands of the state and society. The department of General Practice and Family Medicine including unit “Ethnomedicine and International Health” has a longstanding experience in international cooperation on the European and international level, particularly, with respect to migration and primary health care research as well as regarding the training of under- and post-graduate primary health care staff. The department has initiated a nationwide network of GP practices in Austria; this initiative aims at improving information exchange, implementation and translation of research results into practice reality, thereby bridging the gap between the tertiary, secondary and primary health care sector. Recently, two researchers were involved in the WHO Ebola response (Prof Ruth Kutalek, Dr Elena Jirovsky). In addition, the department was successful partner in several EU-funded projects (e.g. APRES, QUALICOPC, HEALIT4EU – national coordinator Prof Kathryn Hoffmann) one of which was about human resources in primary health care in sub-Saharan Africa and health worker migration (HURAPRIM). Due to the involvement in these EU funded projects the department has a longstanding and successful cooperation with the other Universities participating in this proposal. For years the department is involved in research, teaching and training of individuals, patients and caregivers, regarding communication and clinical competencies concerning different cultural backgrounds in care settings. The department has a multi-disciplinary research team including medical doctors, public health experts, and medical anthropologists. The team has a wide-range of expertise in qualitative and quantitative as well as participatory action research methods and applied research. The head of the department is Prof Manfred Maier who beside others has initiated within the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) a Special Interest Group on ethical issues in General Practice. One significant component of the MUW is the Network of Primary Health Care (NPHC), which is an international network established in 1992 including general practice, social/occupational health and geriatrics departments across Europe. This network operates within the Erasmus exchange programme and offers medical students the possibility of fulfilling a clerkship in primary care, a research elective, or take part in an Intensive Programme. Departments of 13 countries (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and United Kingdom) have developed many different approaches for student exposure to cultural diversity. A recent focus point has been the joint development of refugee and crises region capacity building projects in collaboration with international umbrella organization and related departments in the University.
Website: http://allgmed.meduniwien.ac.at/ueber-uns/wissenschaftliche-mitarbeiterinnen/
Work Package: Lead WP6
Participating in WP1, WP2, WP3, WP4, WP5, and WP7
Associate Professor. Dr. Kathryn Hoffmann, MD, MPH (General Practitioner and Public Health Expert)
Assistant Professor at the department of General Practice and Family Medicine, Austrian coordinator of the EUR-HUMAN project and WP6 leader, involved in all WPs
Webpage
Dr. Elena Jirovsky, PhD (Socio-cultural and Medical Anthropologist)
Senior project staff member of the EUR-HUMAN project (responsible for WP 2 & 6)
Webpage
Mag. Elisabeth Anne-Sophie Mayrhuber (International Development Studies)
Project staff member of the EUR-HUMAN project
(responsible for WP 3, 4, 6, 7)
Werner Lagler (Medical Student)
Voluntary project assistant of the EUR-HUMAN project (WP 2 & 6)
Mag. Daniela Dorneles de Andrade
(Psychologist, Expert for sexual and reproductive health of vulnerable groups)
Project assistant (part-time) of the EUR-HUMAN project (WP 6)
Priv.-Doc. Dr. Ruth Kutalek, PhD (Socio-cultural and Medical Anthropologist)
Interim Head of Unit Ethnomedicine and International Health, department of General Practice and Family Medicine and senior staff member of the EUR-HUMAN project (WP 6)
Webpage