Projects

As part of the "AufZack" project, the living environment of senior citizens in assisted living is to be made more "active" in a sustainable and future-oriented way in order to maintain physical and mental health in the long term. The project is based on the objectives of health sport and can make a significant contribution to practice-oriented research in the field of assisted living and can also be integrated into everyday life in the long term.

The project consists of three modules: an exercise program that contributes to increasing independence in everyday life, promoting physical activity and strengthening the psychosocial resources of senior citizens in assisted living facilities. In addition, interested people from the fields of care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy as well as interested relatives are qualified as so-called "AufZack companions". A three-day training course is being developed for this purpose. The offerings are supplemented by a web-based platform that supports the AufZack companions in creating individual training plans and promotes exchange among them.

Project website

As part of the ActiveLearn project, health-promoting learning spaces are to be created at KIT and students and lecturers are to be sensitized to the topic of "healthy learning". The focus is on 'active learning on campus', but 'active learning in homestudying' and the interaction of lecturers with students in the teaching setting are also taken into account.

The program, centered around networking and health communication, addresses the topic of "Healthy Learning" through three core components: physical activity, relaxation, and ergonomics. These elements will be designed and delivered in a modular and flexible format to meet the diverse needs of participants:

1) Development and implementation of trainings and workshops (e.g., How to ergonomically set up your learning workstation), as well as the provision of short movement (e.g., 5-minute neck fitness) and relaxation breaks (e.g., 5-minute progressive muscle relaxation). These activities will take place directly at the learning locations, in order to keep participation barriers as low as possible.

2) Development of communication materials on the topic of "Healthy Learning" (e.g., posters with neck stretching exercises or information on "How to learn in a healthy way"), which will be displayed on campus and at learning spaces at KIT to further raise awareness of the topic.

2) Development of communication materials on the topic of "Healthy learning" (e.g. posters with neck stretching exercises or on the topic of "How do you learn healthily?"), which are displayed on campus and at the learning locations at KIT to raise additional awareness of the topic.

The aim of the COMO study is to analyze changes in (1) physical and (2) mental health, as well as (3) health behavior in children and adolescents during the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, following the COVID-19 pandemic, considering (4) socioecological contexts. The goal is to identify particularly vulnerable groups and thus create a (5) data foundation for targeted health promotion, prevention, and intervention approaches.

The COMO study is based on two existing population-based longitudinal studies (COPSY, MoMo-Corona-Study) as well as a new study sample. Children and adolescents (aged 4-17) from the new sample and their parents are invited to complete an online questionnaire in  2023, 2024 and 2025. The online survey includes for example questions on health behavior, mental and physical health, as well as socioecological variables.  In addition,  a subsample is invited to complete a digital motor performance test (online survey 2023) and/or to wear an accelerometer for 7 days to assess physical behaviour (online survey 2024). Participants who took part in all surveys of the MoMo-Corona study are asked  to participate in an in-depth, smartphone-based survey at the individual level.

Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space