Projects

The objective of the Hochschulsportstudie is to systematically investigate and psychologically explain intra-individual fluctuations in participation in regularly held sports and health classes. The focus lies on the assumption that decisions for or against classes participation are not determined solely by stable individual characteristics, but are substantially influenced by day-to-day changes in motivational and affective processes. The study particularly focuses on the interplay between intention and habit, as well as the role of anticipated affect in intention formation and actual behavioral execution. In cooperation with the university sports department of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the study analyzes how intentions to participate in classes change in everyday life, to what extent these changes are influenced by anticipated emotional reactions, and how strongly habit-related processes moderate the translation of intentions into behavior. A central research interest is to clarify why participation does not always occur even with high situational intention and under what conditions intentions are stable enough to translate into actual behavior. To capture these dynamic processes, participants are accompanied over a five-week period within the framework of an Ambulatory Assessment. Using daily smartphone surveys, short-term fluctuations in psychological variables such as intention, anticipated affect, perceived behavioral control, and habit are assessed. Additionally, weekly surveys are conducted on realized class participation. This high-resolution longitudinal perspective enables precise mapping of decision processes regarding sports participation within individuals and the identification of time-sensitive behavioral predictors.

• Duration: about 3 Years
  
• Start: May 1, 2024
  
• End: April 30, 2027
  

• Intention and affect as dynamic variables
• Behavioral prediction
• Ecological Momentary Assessment
  

Quantitative Data Collection:
Daily self-reports via app (Ecological Momentary Assessment) capture psychological variables such as intention, affect, habit, and perceived behavioral control.

Qualitative Data Collection:
Within the framework of the study, participants are interviewed to gain deeper insights into the reasons why, despite high intention during a behavioral episode, they ultimately did not participate in the course.

The INNOVARE research project aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medical approaches to fundamentally individualize the rehabilitation of patients with cardiovascular diseases and chronic pain. The project focuses on developing and testing a personalized, data-driven rehabilitation model that integrates biological, physiological, and psychological patient data. AI-supported phenotyping determines individual therapy requirements, and existing rehabilitation modules (e.g. physiotherapy, psychological care and medical training) are adapted in terms of scope, intensity and order at no additional cost or with any new interventions. The project's goal is to significantly enhance physical and mental health and the ability to work, while reducing the risk of relapse and early retirement.

Duration:

• 3 years

• Start: 01.10.2025

• End: 30.09.2028
  

Study endpoints

• Effectiveness of personalized rehabilitation compared to usual care

• Changes in biological markers (e.g. B. cytokines, mitochondrial function)

• Sustainability of effects on health and workability

Quantitative survey:

Collection of health data, workability, mental well-being and molecular biological markers over six measurement times (up to 16 weeks after rehab). Daily self-reports via app (Ecological Momentary Assessment) document pain, mood, motivation and therapy adherence.

Biological Analysis:

• Blood samples (96 ml over 3 weeks) for the analysis of immune cells, proteomes, metabolomes and transcriptomes

• Use of Proximity Ligation Assays, LC-MS/MS and RNA Sequencing

• Clutster analyses for the identification of molecular phenotypes

Physiological data:

Regular measurement of vital parameters and training performance for the objective evaluation of physical resilience.

Psychological data:

Survey using the WHOQOL and Work Ability Index and daily EMA documentation.

Qualitative survey:

Guide-based interviews with patients, as well as therapists to evaluate acceptance, feasibility and subjective experience with personalized rehabilitation.

Term:

• 3 years
• Start: 01.05.2025
• End: 30.04.2028

Study endpoints

• Effectiveness of the digital prevention measure compared to a hybrid and a conventional program
• Sustainability of possible effects

Quantitative survey: In order to be able to evaluate the sustainability of the effects, the longitudinal study includes five measurement points (up to 12 months after the end of the prevention measure). Data is collected on health, ability to work, nutritional behavior, physical activity, motivation and digital skills. In a sub-sample, psychological behavioral determinants are also recorded in more detail using the Ecological Momentary Assessment.

Qualitative survey: In order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the platform and possible difficulties in integrating it into everyday life, the quantitative survey is supplemented by guided interviews.

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a widespread condition with a variable clinical presentation and a heterogeneous course, affecting an estimated 5.8% of the German population. The number of days of incapacity for work is significantly higher in people with COPD than in the general population, which often leads to reduced earning capacity pensions. In addition, people with COPD have weakened muscles due to the oxygen deficit. This further impairs physical performance, often resulting in social isolation and depression. To counteract this downward spiral, exercise-based therapeutic interventions have proven effective. The ITT-COPD project proposes an innovative, individualized exercise-therapy approach with subsequent digital aftercare that differs clearly from current more general COPD treatment programs. These programs often rely almost exclusively on medication and are combined with nicotine abstinence. This new therapeutic approach is characterized by stage-appropriate training planning, the inclusion of motivational psychological aspects, and individualized digital aftercare. The project aims to examine the effectiveness and sustainability of the newly developed rehabilitation program and its tailored digital aftercare. With individualized COPD therapy, affected individuals could be treated even more specifically in the future, and the long-term work ability of many people could be improved.

Duration:

• 4 years

• Start: 01. March 2024

• End: 29. February 2028
  

Study endpoints:

• Review of the effectiveness and sustainability of the training therapy rehabilitation program and telerehabilitative aftercare measures
  

The participants in the intervention group receive the newly developed rehabilitation program as well as the exercise-therapy telerehabilitation follow-up care and are compared, based on various criteria, with a control group that undergoes the standard rehabilitation and aftercare services. The criteria include work ability, subjective health, lung diagnostics, motivation, habits, and autonomous training, and are recorded at up to seven measurement points.

The effectiveness and long-term impact of rehabilitation are central issues in rehabilitation research. To maintain health and the ability to work, rehabilitation gains must be preserved after treatment ends. Our project has two main objectives: first, to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of rehabilitation measures; second, to examine how health behaviors develop after rehabilitation and how psychological factors influence this process. This evaluation serves to secure and, where necessary, improve the quality of rehabilitation in Knappschaft-Bahn-See clinics and to deepen our understanding of the links between psychological factors and health behavior in this context. Only a minority of patients manage to change their health behavior in the long term; many fall back into old patterns. We therefore investigate how patients’ health behavior evolves after treatment so that targeted strategies can be developed to enhance their long-term well-being and quality of life. Through this work, we aim to optimize the effectiveness and sustainability of rehabilitation and promote long-term health. Participation information

Duration:

• 5 years
  

• Start: 1. July 2023

• End: 30. June 2028

Study endpoints:

• Review of the effectiveness and sustainability of rehabilitation measures with a follow-up period of three years after discharge from the rehabilitation facility

• Analysis of the influence of psychological determinants on health behavior after the rehabilitation measure
  

Quantitative survey:

For the first part of the study, rehabilitation participants from five clinics of the Knappschaft-Bahn-See are recruited and surveyed in a period of three years about health, ability to work, BMI and physical activity. For the second part of the study, a segment of this sample is examined in more detail in their everyday life regarding their physical activity and psychological determinants with the help of Ecological-Momentary Assessment.

Qualitative survey:

As part of the second stage of the study, rehabilitation participants are interviewed to find out why activity behavior could be successfully integrated into everyday life, or why it was discontinued.

In the unforgiving world of professional football, team crises are an inevitable nightmare. Characterized by unexpected and long-lasting failures within a season, they have a devastating effect on the club and the players. Escalating pressure, excruciating job anxiety and existential concerns are just a few of the horrors at the individual level. In addition, looming relegation, massive revenue losses and loss of the club's reputation are just a few of the consequences at the club level. Despite the dramatic nature of these consequences, we know surprisingly little about how crises arise and what factors cause them to persist over multiple games or even a whole season. This project therefore aims to explore the conditions and influencing factors of perfprmance crises in professional football, with a focus on psychological aspects. To investigate this, the conditions of origin and influencing factors of these crises are first carefully identified using qualitative studies, after which a model is created that comprehensively explains these phenomena. Based on this, an innovative measuring instrument capturing the central constructs of such crises is developed and evaluated. At the end of the project, the initial model will be tested in an empirical study. Through sophisticated data analysis the correlations and mechanisms driving the vicious circle of team crises in professional football will be revealed. This ambitious project promises exciting insights for the public and a breakthrough for researchers in this field. It will challenge our imagination and open the door to a deeper, more captivating understanding of the dark side of professional football. Further information

Duration

• 36 months

• Start: 08/2023

• End: 08/2026

Study endpoints

• Development of a model to describe the conditions of origin and determinants of crises in professional football

• Development and testing of a questionnaire to describe and predict crises in professional football
  

A qualitative study is carried out to identify central conditions and determinants of team crises in professional football as well as the creation of an associated model. In order to examine the phenomena from different angles, interviews with various representatives of a club (coach, players) are conducted, whereby they are asked to share their own experiences and perceptions regarding the crisis. The evaluation of the interviews is conducted using the approach of qualitative content analysis, with the objective of developing a model from the data. Further information

The Motorik-Modul 2.0 (MoMo 2.0) is a joint project of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Karlsruhe University of Education, the University of Konstanz and the Humboldt-Universität of Berlin, supervised by Prof. Dr. Alexander Woll. The aim of the study is to investigate physical-sporting activity, motor performance and health against the background of current developments such as social inequality. For this purpose, data of children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years in Germany are collected at an extended number of locations. It is the fourth wave of nationwide representative data collection. The Health Association deals with the development of health parameters and the relationships of health with physical activity and fitness.

Duration:

• Start: 2022

• End: 2025
  

This subproject analyses the development of health parameters and the relationships between mental and physical health with physical activity and fitness. The results serve as a basis for the development of measures and interventions to promote a healthy and active lifestyle in children and adolescents.

The aim of the project is to investigate the potential of a digital product in obesity interval rehabilitation. The effectiveness of the digital product is analyzed both in terms of weight loss and the potential to change health behavior. For this purpose, the Knappschaft-Bahn-See in four clinics offers obesity interval rehabilitation with digital support from the telerehabilitation platform CASPAR of GOREHA GmbH, while additionally control clinics with the previous, non-digital application are used for comparison. With the help of the project, on the one hand, certain behaviors are to be learned that promote long-term health and a reduction in body weight and on the other hand certain behaviors are deposited that have a negative impact on health in the long term and lead to an increase in body weight.

Duration

• approx. 3 years

• Start: 1. May 2021

• End: 2024

Study endpoints

• Effectiveness of a telerehabilitation platform compared to conventional rehabilitation in the field of obesity

• User-friendliness and applicability of the telerehabilitation platform in the everyday life of rehabilitation clinics
  

Intervention

The Knappschaft-Bahn-See, a combination of statutory pension insurance, supplementary pension insurance, health and long-term care insurance with its own medical network, in conjunction with the telerehabilitation platform CASPAR Health from GOREHA GmbH, has set itself the objective of evaluating the efficacy of a digital product in obesity interval rehabilitation in several clinics (Rabenstein clinic, Mühlengrund clinic, Reinhards clinic). In addition, control clinics whose rehabilitation measures are used according to the previous, non-digital way, are used for comparison. In order to compare the effectiveness of the measures, the three planned hospital stays, which take place at intervals of six months each, are scientifically accompanied and evaluated by means of questionnaires. The telerehabilitation platform CASPAR is responsible for the stays in the digital application, whose developed app includes, among other things, the therapy plan, training, seminars, lectures, cooking recipes and relaxation exercises created individually by therapists.

Quantitative survey:

To verify the effectiveness, the following primary criteria are used: body weight, health-related quality of life, eating behaviour and physical activity. In addition, it is checked to what extent motivation, intention, self-efficacy, expectation, joy in physical activity and habit formation influence activity behaviour.

Qualitative survey:

In addition, scientific support aims to investigate practicality, user-friendliness and acceptance of the digital offer in a qualitative survey.

After visiting a rehabilitation centre as a result of a health impairment, patients should be able to become independent again as quickly as possible and pursue their employment. For these reasons, Deutsche Rentenversicherung offers the so-called IRENA model (= I tensified re habilitations after chsorge). After the discharge from the rehabilitation centers offered appointments, the treatment successes of the therapy are to solidify. Although this is free of charge and important for the insured for the treatment success, statistics show that the offer is often not used, especially for time and local reasons. As an alternative to the classic IRENA, a digital rehabilitation platform (CASPAR) was therefore developed. This allows the insured to carry out the exercises flexibly in time and locally with the help of a smartphone, tablet or computer. The project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of a digital offer in the rehabilitation area and to check whether the digital measure can improve the subjective health, workability and motivation of patients.

It was shown that with the digital aftercare at least equivalent results could be achieved as with the classic aftercare. With regard to the ability to work and physical health, the results with the digital aftercare were even better. In addition, rehabilitation students achieved a larger range of training with digital aftercare. The greatest potential for optimization lies in the declining self-determined motivation, which was confirmed by the qualitative results.

Duration

2019 - 2022

Study endpoints

• Evaluation and review of the effectiveness and practicality of the rehabilitation measure digIRENA compared to the conventional rehabilitation measures IRENA and a control group

• User-friendliness and applicability of the digital measure in the everyday life of rehabilitation clinics.
  

The aim of the project was to investigate the effectiveness of the digIRENA - digital intensified rehabilitation NA aftercare with the help of the telerehabilitation platform "Caspar" and to compare it with the classic (face-to-face) IRENA - classical Intensified RehabilitationNAchering and a control group. In this context, it was examined to what extent the development of the three groups differs in terms of ability to work, health and motivations. The test included a total of four measurement times. The first measurement time took place during the hospital stay, followed by the second and third surveys at intervals of 13 weeks. The last measurement date was a total of 43 weeks after the discharge.

Quantitative survey

The following primary criteria were used to verify the effectiveness:

• Assessment of Subjective Health (SF12)
• Working capacity (WAI)
• Motivation (BREQ-2)

Qualitative survey

Interviews with the participants and therapists were conducted to verify the practicality, usability and acceptance of the digital offer.

The aim of the German Pension Insurance (DRV) is to maintain and promote the ability to work in people with initial health impairments and/or occupational risk factors with the help of preventive measures. Participants Beof the so-called Betsi program (= employability tt eilhabeor-oriented sichern) should therefore learn in a short but intensive phase, certain techniques that promote good health in the long term, or that have a negative impact on good health in the long term. Following an initial phase in the prevention center, there is a training phase and self-initiative phase in which the learned behaviors are to be consolidated. As an alternative to this classic Betsi program, a digital platform (Caspar) has been developed that allows the insured to carry out the exercises flexibly in time and location with the help of a smartphone, tablet or computer. The project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of a digital offer in the area of prevention and to check whether the digital measure can improve subjective health, workability and motivation.

It showed that the results in terms of ability to work, health, and motivation in the digital intervention group were higher than in the classic Besti program, but not significant. In addition, the results from the interviews with therapists suggest that Caspar is a useful, user-friendly and effective platform. Optimization potentials exist with regard to the satisfaction of needs of competence, social connection and autonomy, which have an influence on the motivation of the participants.

Duration

2019-2021

Study endpoints

• Evaluation and review of the effectiveness and practicality of the digital prevention offer Caspar compared to the conventional prevention measure "Betsi"

• User-friendliness and applicability of the digital measure in the everyday life of prevention clinics
  

Intervention

The aim of the project was to check the effectiveness of the digital prevention offer "Caspar" and to compare it with the conventional prevention offer "Securing betsi- employment in a participation-oriented manner". It was investigated to what extent the development of the two groups differs in terms of ability to work, health and motivations. The test includes a total of three measurement times; the first survey takes place during the hospital stay, after which the second and third surveys were connected at intervals of 12 weeks.

Quantitative survey

The following primary criteria are used to verify effectiveness: Assessment of subjective health (SF12), ability to work (WAI) and motivation (BREQ-2)

Qualitative survey

Interviews with the participants and therapists are conducted to verify the practicality, user-friendliness and acceptance of the digital offer.

Undoubtedly, the psyche plays a crucial role in sports. But how can we better control our emotions? In our project, we worked hand in hand with the renowned app developer 7Mind to develop groundbreaking mindfulness meditations especially for athletes of all performance classes. Our goal was to revolutionize the world of sport with an innovative approach. In collaboration with 7Mind, we addressed subjects fundamental importance, including overcoming competitive anxiety, strengthening focus and concentration, dealing with pressure, building self-confidence, and managing negative emotions. By harnessing the power of mindfulness, we wanted to help athletes reach their full potential. With our tailored meditation exercises, they have learned to overcome their own limits, increase mental strength and feel confident on the field in every moment.

Duration:

• 1 year

• Start: 2017

• End: 2018

Student products:

• Development of mindfulness training for athletes

Conception of a mindfulness training in cooperation with 7Minds.