Portrait

Nadine Fischbock has a degree in nursing and is a registered nurse. Since 2007, she has held various positions in the Nursing Management of Hannover Medical School. She has been involved in the doctoral program "Chronic Diseases and Health Literacy" (ChEG) since April 2021.

Topic of the doctorate

How do nurses understand and make their contribution to promoting health literacy in patients in terms of health literacy?

Background

A first nursing definition of health literacy by Thilo et.al. 2012 forms a basis for the upcoming health literacy research in the field of professional Nursing. However, in order for nurses to be explicitly able to provide health literacy-promoting care in the sense of health literacy, they should be aware of the thematic relevance and scope. Clarifying the concept in the field of nursing is important for nurses to develop an awareness of the phenomenon and its relationship to the outcomes of their communication and health education efforts.

Both the literature review to date and the exchange with representatives of nursing science associations have so far yielded only marginal empirical results on the relationship of organizational nursing action to the promotion of health literacy on the patient side. This leads to the conclusion that although the promotion of health literacy in Nursing has been called for in many ways to date, it has not been sufficiently investigated and proven. Questions such as "What do professional nurses understand by the term health literacy?" or "How important do nurses consider the aspects of health literacy for their professional practice?" can be derived to some extent from existing studies, but are still largely unresolved at the decisive levels of nursing.

Aim

The dissertation pursues a multi-perspective qualitative investigation of organizational nursing health literacy. The aim is to gain an initial insight into the organizational, health literacy-promoting actions of professional Nursing in the acute inpatient setting in Germany. Implicit and explicit health literacy-promoting actions in everyday nursing care will be identified and aspects for increasing organizational nursing health literacy will be presented.

Method

The first step in answering the research questions is participant observation. The scope consists of the acquisition of six Clinical Departments with different sponsorship. The observation field is a ward unit accompanied by a nurse in a four-hour observation unit. Two observation units are planned per Clinical Department, one in the early and one in the late shift (n=12). The observation focuses on the facets of health literacy: finding, understanding, evaluating and applying.

New findings to be expected

The research approach described above provides an initial overview of the field and the penetration and implementation of health literacy in Germany.

Conclusions can be drawn about factors that promote and inhibit health literacy in the field of care organization, recommendations can be made for increasing organizational care measures and statements can be made about the influence of care organization systems.

In addition to health literacy research, the expected results may have an influence on the fields of nursing science, nursing management, nursing education and also on the area of health services research. This dissertation therefore offers many starting points for further research desiderata.

Publications

Fischbock N, Naef AN, Rathmann K, Dierks M-L (2025). Health literacy and Nursing: Promotion of profession-related health literacy in the acute inpatient care organization - analysis of the current status using participant observation. Prev Gesundheitsf (2025). doi.org/10.1007/s11553-025-01211-w

Fischbock N, Oppermann L, Lander J, Seidel G, Walter U (2025). Health literacy as a building block of prevention and health promotion: An introduction for nursing education. Nursing Education 2/2025, pp. 2-7.

Fischbock N, Naef AN, Rathmann K, Dierks M-L (2024). Health literacy and Nursing - an analysis of the profession-related promotion of health literacy among patients in acute inpatient care. Präv Gesundheitsf. doi.org/10.1007/s11553-024-01125-z

Naef AN, Felsenheimer A, Klawunn R, Fischbock N, Tezcan-Güntekin H, Amelung VE (2024). Digital interventions to promote health literacy: a comparison of the perspectives of adolescents with type 1 diabetes and physicians. Prev Gesundheitsf doi.org/10.1007/s11553-024-01122-2

Naef AN, Fischbock N, Tezcan-Güntekin H and Amelung VE (2024). Adolescents with type 1 diabetes' perspectives on digital health interventions to enhance health literacy: a qualitative study. Front. Public Health 12:1340196. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1340196

Naef AN, Fischbock N, Tezcan-Güntekin H and Amelung VE (2024). Digital interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes to promote health literacy? A qualitative study on physicians' perspective in Germany. BMJ Public Health 2024;2:e000510. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjph-2023-000510

Rathmann K, László E, Häberle N, Fischbock N, Naef AN, Dierks ML, Lander J, Bitzer EM, Naczinsky A, Preising A, Hammes K, Spatzier D (2024). On the way to a health-competent organization: experiences from and needs for (health care) research and practice. Health - together. Cooperation conference of the German Society for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS), German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP), German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi), German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS) and the German Society for Public Health (DGPH). Dresden, 08-13.09.2024. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2024. docAbstr. 653. doi: 10.3205/24gmds912

Rathmann K, Münch I, Fischbock N, Häberle N, László E, Bitzer EM, Dierks M-L, Schaefer C (2024). Developing and implementing health literacy in healthcare: Needs and challenges for quality management. Qualitas 02/24. p 27-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43831-024-0184-9

Fischbock N, Naef AN, Rathmann K, Dierks M-L (2023). Promotion of health literacy by nurses - an analysis of the profession-related promotion of health literacy in acute inpatient care, lecture, 22nd German Congress for Health Services Research (DKVF). Berlin. 2023. German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2023. doc23dkvf381. doi: 10.3205/23dkvf381.

Fischbock N, Guenther F & Stephan J (2023). Health literacy research with a view to professional Nursing. Qualitas 22, 32-34 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43831-023-0129-8

Fischbock N, Naef AN, Rathmann K, Dierks M-L (2023). Health literacy and Nursing-an analysis of profession-based promotion of health literacy in acute inpatient care. Healthcare 2023; 85(08/09): 817 - 817. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1770626

Naef NA, Fischbock N, Tezcan-Güntekin H, Amelung VE (2023). Promoting Health Literacy through Digital Health among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes - Perspectives of Experts and Patients. Healthcare 2023; 85(08/09): 760 - 760. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1770427

Naef NA, Fischbock N, Wilhelm C, Tezcan-Güntekin H, Amelung VE (2023). Impact of digital health interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus on health literacy: a systematic review. Das Gesundheitswesen 2023; 85(08/09): 760 - 761. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1770428

Stephan J, Fischbock N, Guenther F, de Gani S, Dierks M-L (2023). Health literacy - a key position for Nursing?! Nursing Science 3-2023 pp. 121-124

Fischbock N (2022): Health literacy and Nursing. Poster presentation at the Summerschool chronic diseases and interdisciplinary health literacy research, Hanover, 01.08.2022.

Fischbock, N (2022): Health literacy and Nursing. Study design presentation. Poster presentation at the symposium "Gesundheitskompetenz zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis" of the Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 2nd prize in the category "Optics & Design", Hanover, 15.09.2022.

Fischbock N, Häberle N, Silke M (2022): Health professions and (organizational) health literacy. Workshop as part of the summer school chronic diseases and interdisciplinary health literacy research, Hanover, 02.08.2022.

Häberle N, Silke M, Fischbock N (2022). The contribution of health professionals to the promotion of a health literate organization. Healthcare 2022; 84: 852 DOI 10.1055/s-0042-1753950