Cornelia Betsch contributes to the German Science and Humanities Council's position paper on prevention

The German Science and Humanities Council (WR) is calling for a change of course towards more prevention in the healthcare system. Professor Dr. Cornelia Betsch was involved in the development of the position paper in the "Prevention and Health Promotion" working group.

In a recent position statement, the German Science and Humanities Council calls for a fundamental change of course in the German healthcare system: instead of treating illness, prevention should take centre stage. Professor Dr. Cornelia Betsch, Director of the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour at the University of Erfurt, was involved in the development of the paper as a member of the "Prevention and Health Promotion" working group and contributed expertise on health communication, health literacy, and behavioural science aspects in particular.

Download position statement (PDF, 2MB)

Among other things, the German Science and Humanities Council recommends interdisciplinary prevention research, better access to data, stronger public health structures, and the anchoring of health as a goal in all policy areas. Prevention should also be more strongly integrated into education, care, and social practice in order to reduce health inequalities and ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system.

The press conference on the new position paper "Acting in favour of prevention" is available on the German Science and Humanities Council's YouTube channel:

Publication

German Science and Humanities Council (2026): Acting in favour of prevention and health promotion in science, healthcare and society | Position statement; Cologne. doi.org/10.57674/7rvj-jy21

Read the position statement...

Contact:

Cornelia Betsch
Prof. Dr. Cornelia Betsch
Professor of Health Communication
(Faculty of Philosophy)
C19 – research building "Weltbeziehungen" / C19.01.27
+49 361 737-1631
cornelia.betsch@uni-erfurt.de

More links

Back

You are in the news section of the Professorship of Health Communication.

Further news, press releases and current topics can be found on the "News" pages of the University of Erfurt.