On 24 June 2025, 22 participants successfully completed the first Epi Study Nurse course “Conducting Epidemiological Studies” of the NAKO Health Study. The course, organised by Dr. Sylvia Gastell, Head of the NAKO Study Centre Berlin-South/Brandenburg at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE), and NAKO Board Member Prof. Dr. Tamara Schikowski, teaches the basics of good epidemiological practice. Brandenburg at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) and NAKO board member Prof. Dr. Tamara Schikowski, teaches the basics of good epidemiological practice (GEP) to non-medical study personnel, thereby making a significant contribution to quality assurance in epidemiological studies.
After two years of intensive preparation and a successfully evaluated pilot course in 2023, the first Epi Study Nurse course, “Conducting Epidemiological Studies,” began at the DIfE in February 2025. The course was initiated by Dr. Sylvia Gastell, head of the NAKO Study Centre Berlin-South/Brandenburg, and developed in close cooperation with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the major epidemiological societies German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi), Society for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS) and the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) and the German National Cohort (NAKO).
Twenty-two employees from various NAKO institutions, the RKI and the Max Rubner Institute (MRI) registered for the first course. They all already had experience from various epidemiological studies, such as the Cohort on PLANT-based diets (COPLANT) study, the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) study, the Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region (KORA) study, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Potsdam study, and the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KIGGS) study.
With face-to-face and online courses on good epidemiological practice
After a two-hour kick-off online course, the participants met on 10 and 11 February 2025 for the first of a total of three face-to-face courses at the DIfE. Here, PD Dr Martin Schlaud from the Central Epidemiological Laboratory at the RKI first explained the basics of epidemiology before moving on to the topics of quality management (Gina Schöne, formerly from the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the RKI), data protection (Dr Sabrina Schmitt, Central Quality Management at the NAKO office in Heidelberg) and ethics (PD Dr Kerstin Wirkner from the Leipzig Research Centre for Civilisation Diseases and the Medical Faculty at the University of Leipzig).
In the online course, Stefan Ostrzinski, an employee at the NAKO Integration Centre in Greifswald, taught everything worth knowing about data management.
In the second face-to-face course on 31 March and 1 April, the lecturers covered the topics of questionnaires and interviews (Leo Panreck, Research Data Management at the NAKO office in Heidelberg), communication (Gina Schöne, formerly Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the RKI) and secondary and registry data (Dr Christoph Stallmann, Institute for Social Medicine and Health System Research at Magdeburg University Hospital).
In the last face-to-face course on 12 and 13 May, Dr Kathrin Günther from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology-BIPS in Bremen and Dr Alexander Kluttig, Managing Director of the Saxony-Anhalt Clinical Cancer Registry, spoke on the topics of bio-sample management, investigations and handling research results.
Afterwards, participants had the opportunity to ask any final questions and prepare thoroughly for the exam, which they could then take on three specified days at a time of their choosing using an online tool.
The course was very helpful and important for me in ultimately understanding what is important in my own field of work. As a trained nurse, I had never had any contact with studies or student research projects before. I really liked the fact that I was able to revisit all the topics in a concentrated manner during the online exam days, which greatly enhanced my learning experience,” says Cindy Kühn, study nurse at the DIfE Human Study Centre, summarising her impressions of the course.
Repeat guaranteed
“I am delighted that we have created the Epi Study Nurse course, which enables us to contribute to standardised implementation and high-quality data in epidemiological studies through well-trained staff. This closes a major gap in the German continuing education sector for this target group,” says Dr Sylvia Gastell, summarising the successful completion of the first course. The participants particularly appreciated the well-structured course design, ranging from theoretical basics to practical topics, as well as the intensive exchange of experience and knowledge among themselves and with the lecturers. Four more courses are planned until 2028. The next Epi Study Nurse course, which is already fully booked, will start in February 2026. However, registrations for 2027 are already possible at epistudynurse@nako.de.
What those involved say
I signed up for the Epi Study Nurse course without hesitation. Right from the start, there was positive and open communication between all the participants and all the speakers, and of course with Sylvia Gastell. The course was very well organised and lovingly run.
The topics were well structured and comprehensive, ranging from the basics of epidemiology to research methods and the handling of research results in epidemiological studies. I also found it very exciting to gain an insight into data protection and data management, which gave me a better understanding of the background and context. The topic of communication is of course also very close to my heart, as we are constantly communicating, whether consciously or unconsciously.All participants found it difficult to say goodbye at the end of the course. But we will stay in touch and continue to exchange ideas. It would be desirable to have a refresher course after some time.
Diana Metzlaff, Universitätsklinikum Halle – participant
„I would like to express my sincere thanks for the great learning atmosphere at the EpiStudyNurse course. The interesting discussions with the other participants greatly enriched the lecture on data protection for me. I hope that everyone will now be able to put what they have learned to good use in practice!
Dr. Sabina Schmitt, Speaker Head of Quality Management at NAKO e.V.
II benefited greatly from the EpiStudy Nurse Course 2025, both personally and professionally: it was excellently designed, organised and moderated by Sylvia Gastell; the lecturers were very good, teaching the content in a practical way and being open to questions. From data protection and ethics to communication, data management, research, quality management, bio-sample management and handling research results: seeing everything in its overall context was extremely helpful and valuable for me personally and for my daily work!
In addition, the course offered me, as an RKI employee, a good opportunity to gain an insight into the procedures of the NAKO and the work processes of the NAKO employees – not to mention the very intensive mutual exchange during the breaks and at the evening meetings! Even the exam was fun in a way: it was a good opportunity to focus on the content once again and consider it in a broader context.
Conclusion: It was an all-round valuable, excellent course that was extremely helpful for my work – I will warmly recommend it to others at the RKI!
Susanne Dost, Robert Koch Institut (RKI) – participant
Further information
To the article on the DIfE website
Information about the following EpiStudyNurse courses: www.nako.de/YoungNAKO