Following the launch of the German Centre for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) at the beginning of June, children and teenagers are now to be actively involved in the centre’s research and organisation. Young people can and should have a say in health issues – that is the aim of the DZKJ. As part of a first school project, 15 pupils from the Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium in Göttingen were given an insight into research activities in the field of paediatric and adolescent medicine at the University Medical Centre Göttingen (UMG) from 17 to 19 June 2024.
The first step is to “empower” children and teenagers to have a say in medical research, to help decide on research questions and thus to actively shape research in paediatric and adolescent medicine in Germany. “It is important that children and teenagers recognise the opportunities they have, to influence medical issues and thus the research that affects them and their health. We as adults will also recognise their participation as an enrichment,” says MBExC member Prof. Dr. Jutta Gärtner, spokesperson of the DZKJ and Director of the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the UMG.
Link to the UMG press release (in German)
Microscopy of cells. Photo: umg/niklas richter
