Brandenburg starts large health study: This is how our children feel!

Brandenburg starts large health study: This is how our children feel!

From October 1, 2025, Brandenburg will take part in the third survey wave of the international HBSC study “Health Behavior in School-aged Children”. This study aims to gain deeper insights into the subjective and psychosocial health and health behavior of adolescents. The focus is on topics such as smoking, media consumption, exercise and the influences of family, school and friend groups. School classes in grades 5, 7 and 9 will be surveyed and the first results are expected to be available in mid-2027. This is reported by the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg.

Education Minister Steffen Freiberg highlights the close connection between health and education. The surveying schools can expect individual feedback in the form of “school health profiles”. Health Minister Britta Müller emphasizes the importance of reliable data for political measures to improve health care. This study is also supported by the vdek state representation in Berlin/Brandenburg in order to optimize health care in the region.

Experiences from preliminary studies

Brandenburg took part in previous HBSC survey waves in 2018 and 2022, in which over 3,000 students were surveyed. The 2022 results showed, among other things, the challenges that children and young people were exposed to during the pandemic. The aim of the current survey is to analyze trends over almost a decade, particularly in relation to mental health and substance use, such as RKI communicates.

The HBSC study is considered the world's largest study of child and adolescent health supported by the WHO. It provides important data that is incorporated into the state of Brandenburg's health reporting and is intended to address the needs of young people. Prof. Dr. Ludwig Bilz from the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg underlines the essential importance of data collection for long-term developments in the field of child and adolescent health.

Influences on the health of young people

The general conditions of childhood and adolescence, characterized by family and social structures as well as medical care offers, have a significant influence on the well-being, physical and mental health and the risk of illness of adolescents. As you get older, your own behavior becomes more and more important for your health. The connection between health behavior in childhood and adolescence and health in later adulthood should not be underestimated RKI explained.