Rethinking Social Health - Announcement of the DGSMP Congress
At this year's 57th annual conference of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP e.V.) together with the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS), health experts will discuss the challenges facing social medicine and medical sociology in the face of rapid digital change.
With regard to the social impact of the Corona pandemic, the topics of "social health" and "health inequality" have become the focus of public attention within the last two years. Topics such as access to health care, social determinants of health or crisis management are intensively discussed politically and socially. In light of this, the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP e.V.) will meet together with the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS e.V.) for their joint 57th annual congress from September 7 to 9, 2022 in Magdeburg. The motto of this year's congress is "Rethinking social health: challenges for social medicine and medical sociology in the digital postmodern era". The congress president is Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Apfelbacher, director of the Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and executive board member of the DGSMP. More than 500 representatives from the fields of social medicine, public health, prevention, health sciences, and more are expected to attend. The congress will be opened, among others, by Saxony-Anhalt's Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Petra Grimm-Benne.
WHAT: 57th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP e.V.) with the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS e.V.)
WHEN: 7.-9.09.2022
WO: University Magdeburg-Stendal, Breitscheidstraße 2, 39114 Magdeburg
"A number of studies have now proven that a person's health is always influenced by social, economic and communal aspects. Saxony-Anhalt, for example, ranks 14th in a national comparison and is one of the lowest-income regions in Germany. According to the at-risk-of-poverty rate, almost one in five people is at risk of poverty. It is also the federal state with the lowest average life expectancy. Many of these factors have a direct influence on health and can be the cause of social and health inequalities. One of our tasks in social medicine is the precise analysis of the interactions between health and disease and society. The aim is not only to promote the health of all, but above all to ensure equal health opportunities. Social medical research thus plays a key role in society, with a high level of responsibility for the further development of care, preventive measures and health policy recommendations," emphasizes Prof. Apfelbacher.
Exciting and stimulating keynotes will come from Prof. Christine Holmberg from the Institute for Social Medicine and Epidemiology at the Brandenburg Theodor Fontane Medical School. On the opening day, she will undertake a "localization" of social health. Prof. Julika Loss will talk about social aspects in prevention on the following day. The professor of medical sociology heads the "Health Behavior" department at the Robert Koch Institute and also serves on the board of the DGSMP. An international keynote will come from Prof. John Drury, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Sussex in England. His contribution will focus on the emergence and disintegration of neighborly support structures during the pandemic and what can be done to sustain solidarity.
Young scientists will have the opportunity to present their own innovative research projects in the form of posters at the "Young Perspectives" event and win a Poster-Prize.
The current program and further information on the event can be found at https://dgsmp-dgms-2022.de/.
Media Contact:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Apfelbacher, Director of the Institute for Social Medicine and Health Systems Research at the tto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, +49 (0)391-67-24316,
Mariya Ahner M.A., Communication Officer, Office of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention e.V., Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 330 396-12, E-Mail: