Social & Health Care Services

For people with disabilities, needs-based care as well as the right to choose the service provider freely are generally more difficult to realise in rural areas than in urban contexts. Although the same language is spoken in Germany and Austria and people now live quite naturally in one country, work, shop or go to hospital in the other, people with disabilities mainly take part in participation services in their respective home countries. This is due not only to a lack of cross-border services but also to a lack of knowledge of the service structures and the ways to access the neighbouring country services. Additionally, there is also a lack of knowledge about personal rights. This project captures existing offers and services in the social space. By conducting 5 focus groups (2x affected persons, relatives, institutions, politics) and interviews, knowledge about the perception of participation services in the social space, hindering factors and perspectives as well as unmet needs, is generated. Additional knowledge is generated through a moderated large group event where affected persons and experts participate. First findings can be multiplied here. A legal opinion will be created at the same time, which will highlight legal and administrative barriers and opportunities for cross-border service participation. The findings from the focus groups and the large group event will be included. Recommendations for actions for further offers for the social space of the border region will be derived from the gained knowledge. These recommendations will be made available to those affected, to specialists and to social policy makers. This will be done via a brochure (professional public and social policy) as well as by means of an online platform. There the results will be presented in an understandable way, services and offers in the social space will be presented and further information will be provided.

Data on the health literacy of Austrians are currently availably primarily for adults and adolescents aged 13 and older. These data refer to the findings of the HLS-EU study which was conducted throughout Europe. The results of the Europe-wide HLS-EU study (2012) among adults as well as adolescents were below-average in Austria. On this basis the project management has intensively dealt with the topic of health literacy within the scope of a master thesis in 2017. For the first time in Austria, data on the level of health literacy of almost 600 children in the 4th primary school level were collected. This data were collected in two comparative provinces (Tyrol and Styria). There are many reasons why it is important to address the topic of health literacy to children. On the one hand this is because it is difficult to change behavioural patterns that were imprinted in childhood at a later stage. Therefore, it is essential to start with the topic of health literacy early. On the other hand, the implications of a population with low health literacy on the health status of the population, on the health care system and on the health care expenditure can be manifold. The results of the study conducted as part of the master's thesis show that almost half of the children in the sample have excellent health literacy. The difference between these results and those of the HLS-EU study (for adolescents as well as adults) was the basis for developing the research question what level of health literacy children between the ages of 9 and 13 have. This age range is exactly where the turning point of the health literacy level lies according to the previous studies (HLS-EU, master's thesis). Determining this turning point can make a significant contribution to the implementation of targeted measures that are designed to suit the age group and ultimately strengthen their health literacy.

In the Citizen Science (CS) project FoodExplorer, adolescents explore the food supply in their school environment. For the first time, they thereby create a comprehensive inventory of the food supply in and around Tyrolean schools. Apart from the CS data, we also conduct a multi-wave survey at the partner schools. By combining the CS data with the survey data, we create new knowledge about the influence of the food supply on the nutritional behaviour as well as on the wellbeing of the students. Also, the potential of CS in social sciences remains untapped to date. Thus, from a methodological point of view, this project generates new findings about the application of CS in social sciences and thereby plays a pioneering role here. This is done by providing new experiences on the feasibility of using CS in social sciences and evaluating the potential in terms of scientific innovation and individual learning effects.

FWF Einzelprojekt

The hallmark Healthy School Tyrol Program is dedicated to a holistic conception of health and intends to change individual behavior in favor of a healthier lifestyle. To achieve this overarching goal early sensitization of the health topic is promoted in children and teenagers, as well as, in decision makers within the school context (e.g. teachers). Establishing health-promoting structures and processes should strengthen the individual self-efficacy (empowerment) and the psychosocial and physical well-being of students. Objectives of the evaluation are to assess 1) the implementation of the hallmark criteria, 2) the supervision during the conception and implementation and 3) the impact of the program on students. To grasp the impact of the hallmark in its full extend a mixed-method approach is utilized including qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative part includes a document analysis and group discussions to identify restricting and/or activation factors for the implementation of the "Hallmark Healthy School Tyrol". Examining the influence of the hallmark on the course of development in children and teenagers is the main concern of the quantitative part and achieved via a three-part panel analysis.