The 2nd symposium "Health Promotion & Prevention in Nursing", which took place on February 13, 2020 at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) as part of the Rhineland-Palatinate state's Nursing 2.0 specialist and qualification initiative, focused on strengthening the mental health of nursing staff. Mental stress due to work overload, time pressure and increasing verbal and physical aggression account for a high proportion of the health risks associated with the nursing profession. Conference organizer Andrea Kuhn from the HWG LU's Health Research Network and her cooperation partners - the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Health and Welfare Services (BGW), the Rhineland-Palatinate Accident Insurance Fund (UK RLP) and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Chamber of Nursing - have set out to counteract this. And the organizers seem to have struck a chord with carers. As with the first symposium in 2019, the 2020 symposium had a full house with around 250 participants and once again welcomed a representative of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Health and Demography (MSGD), State Secretary Dr. Alexander Wilhelm.

In his welcoming address, the State Secretary emphasized the immense social importance of care: "What is achieved here - by carers and managers alike - deserves the unconditional recognition and respect of society as a whole." Accordingly, the situation in the care sector is also of central importance with regard to the Rhineland-Palatinate's Care 2.0 specialist and qualification initiative. "Attractive working and employment conditions require a healthy and health-promoting working environment. It is very important that we succeed in tapping into the potential of supportive opportunities that we have in the state and using them in a targeted manner to deal with stress in care work. With the skilled workers and qualification initiative Care 2.0, we are on the right track here together with our partners in the field of action 'Maintaining and strengthening employees' health and ability to work'," says Dr. Alexander Wilhelm.

Under the key question "Culture of health and safety in the care profession - care works!", the symposium focused primarily on practical tools for everyday working life in the care sector. Topics such as the prevention of violence in psychiatry and nursing, appreciative corporate culture, conflict resolution, professional regulations as support in everyday practice or nursing ethics, professionalism and appreciation were presented as building blocks of good nursing practice and then discussed and concretized in various practical workshops in a collegial exchange.

"With this 2nd symposium, we are taking a closer look at the topics that were particularly important to conference participants in 2019 and providing concrete examples for implementation in their respective practices. It is important to us to show the carers: We understand your concerns!", explained organizer Andrea Kuhn from the university's Health Research Network. At the same time, Kuhn also appealed to the conference guests to become active themselves and to confidently articulate the professional self-image and demands of the profession - not only in 2020, the international "Year of Nurses and Midwives". University President Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra also encouraged the participants to "carry the messages of this conference into civil society, politics and their own working environment."

The aim of the conference series, which is part of the Rhineland-Palatinate state's Care 2.0 specialist and qualification initiative, is to bring together carers from practice, science, management, education and training and to jointly initiate innovations for the benefit of carers and people with care needs. In addition to the HWG LU, cooperation partners include the Rhineland-Palatinate Accident Insurance Fund (UK RLP), the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Health and Welfare Services (BGW) and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Chamber of Nursing.

The abstracts of the conference papers can be found here.

Professional contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Andrea Kuhn
Coordinator Health Research Network
Tel. 0621/5203-244
E-mail: andrea.kuhn@hwg-lu.de