The Interdisciplinary Research Group investigates how personalized prevention can be designed and communicated to strengthen trust, acceptance, and participation.

The Research Group “Targeted Prevention” examines how evidence-based disease prevention can be designed and communicated to build public trust, acceptance, and participation. Although many preventive measures can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, they are often perceived as having little relevance and are therefore insufficiently used. The project therefore investigates the barriers that hinder participation in preventive measures and how these barriers can be overcome.

To address this challenge, the research group focuses on risk-stratified prevention, in which preventive measures are tailored to an individual’s health risk. Instead of providing the same recommendations to everyone, the approach aims to identify those who are most likely to benefit from specific interventions. This involves using biological markers, digital technologies, and real-time health data to support risk stratification. 

Experts from medicine, psychology, the social sciences, data science, law, and ethics examine how socioeconomic conditions and different types of communication influence trust, understanding, and participation in preventive measures. This includes issues of health literacy, the communication of individual health data, and ethical questions such as data protection and the right not to know certain health-related information about oneself.

In pilot studies and real-world laboratories, conducted where appropriate in collaboration with healthcare providers and municipalities, new forms of communication and participation in prevention will be tested. The aim is to develop evidence-based recommendations for a prevention-oriented healthcare system that strengthens trust and promotes health-conscious behavior across the lifespan.