Research Project | Navigating Complexity – Experiences of patients and health professionals in the Austrian health system
How do people experience the Austrian healthcare system? What is stressful when dealing with health in everyday life, and what is helpful? These questions affect healthy people as well as those with chronic illnesses and their families. The HEALTH Lab at Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna, headed by MMag. DDr. Gudrun Salamon, is investigating experiences in the healthcare system:
- Are medical reports difficult to understand?
- Can people with health concerns find the right information?
- Where do misunderstandings arise in medical treatment?
Your experiences help us develop concrete recommendations – for better communication, more understandable health information, and a system that works for everyone.
Take part in the survey: https://onlinebefragungen.sfu.ac.at
Project team
Project team
Project lead
MMag. DDr. Gudrun Salamon
“I love doing research that makes a difference and at the same time contributes to the understanding of how the quality of life of people in various life situations can be improved.”
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Project members
Mag. Monika Gritsch
“I am passionate about research that combats structural injustices and works toward inclusive and equitable healthcare.”
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Milica Kabic, MSc
“I am passionate about gaining insights from data, recognising patterns, and using them to tell a clear, comprehensible story. Modern, clean, and transparent methodological approaches are particularly important to me in this regard.”
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Current student team
Our students come from the fields of psychology, medicine, and digital health. They accompany the HEALTH Lab for one year, during which they familiarise themselves intensively with the subject matter, conduct research together with us, and write their theses. The results of their work are incorporated into further research and, if the quality of the work is sufficient, lead to joint publications.
Students:
- Theo Bawart
- Hanna Braunshofer
- Victoria Burkhardt
- Kristina Pearson
- Florian Polanc
- Sabrina Polanc
- Thomas Weilguny
Method
Method
The project uses an exploratory mixed-methods design:
Quantitative phase: A large-scale online survey will be used to identify navigation barriers and gather information on how people deal with health and illness. The aim is to recruit over a thousand participants [N>1000].
Qualitative phase: In-depth interviews with four groups of participants (people with acute illnesses, people with chronic illnesses, healthy individuals, and practitioners of various medical professions [N=100]) reveal the psychological and practical challenges of navigating the system.
The quantitative and qualitative data are analyzed individually and in combination.
Research question(s) and hypotheses
Research question(s) and hypotheses
The project examines how people navigate the Austrian healthcare system and which factors facilitate or hinder these navigation processes. The focus is on further developing the concept of health literacy to include social, diversity-related, psychological, digital, structural, and systemic dimensions. By integrating user and professional perspectives, individual experiences (micro level) are linked to organisational structures (meso level) and systemic conditions (macro level).
The research questions aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of the navigation processes:
- What barriers do different population groups experience?
- What strategies and resources are perceived as helpful?
- How do organisational and systemic structures influence individual experiences in the healthcare system?
As an exploratory mixed-methods project, the study works with basic assumptions rather than formal hypotheses. We assume that navigation processes in the healthcare system are not determined exclusively by individual competencies, but are significantly influenced by the interplay of personal, organisational, and systemic factors. We expect to identify different navigation profiles that go beyond classic health literacy models and integrate psychological, social, and structural dimensions. We also assume that vulnerable population groups experience specific barriers that can be addressed through targeted interventions at the organisational and systemic levels. The qualitative component of the study will help to refine these assumptions and identify new factors that have not been considered before.
Funding body
Funding body
We work with patient organisations, healthcare institutions, and self-help groups to reflect the diversity of the Austrian population.
Would you like to become a cooperation partner?
Contact us at health.lab@sfu.ac.at
Project duration
Project duration
06/2025 – 05/2028
Download: materials for cooperation partners
Download: materials for cooperation partners
Here you will find all the materials you need to disseminate our study. Many texts contain the placeholder [ORGANISATION], which you can replace with the name of your association/organisation.
Download Section:
Complete media package: contains all documents for social media (graphics for Instagram and Facebook as well as WhatsApp/Signal – two motifs each in digital format for posts and stories) and ready-to-use text templates for social media posts, newsletters, and emails.
Download: SFU_Gesundheitsstudie_Social_Media_Paket.zip
Printable version: Poster (with QR code) for printing in A3 or A4
Download: SFU_Gesundheitsstudie_Poster.pdf
Logos: SFU logo in high resolution.
Download: SFU Logos.zip
Thank you for your support!
If you are interested in a collaboration, please get in touch with gudrun.salamon@sfu.ac.at.