Needs of the population in Germany for information about health-related topics – Results from the KomPaS study

Abstract

Very few investigations have been conducted in Germany into the areas in which the population, including patients, lacks information about health-related issues. However, data from these areas provide crucial supplements to the descriptions and scientific analyses of health information behaviour that are more often available. Data on gaps in the population’s knowledge about health-related issues provide indications of health policy challenges. The Alliance for Health Competence, the German National Health Targets and the German National Health Portal, which was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Health, have all taken up this issue. The 2017 study ‘KomPaS: survey on communication and patient-safety’ was conducted by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The KomPaS study used the response categories ‘fairly well’ informed and ‘fairly poorly’ informed to assess how well-informed people feel when it comes to health-related issues. A comparison of the results from the supplementary survey conducted as part of the German Health Update (GEDA) 2009 and those of the KomPas study demonstrate varying degrees of improvement in the population’s level of health information in all areas over a period of almost ten years.