Bavarian outpatient Covid-19 monitor (BaCoM) - Preliminary results presented

In March 2021, the Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Care and Prevention launched the Bavarian Outpatient COVID-19 Monitor - BaCoM for short - under the leadership of the Institute of General Medicine at LMU University Hospital in order to take a closer look at the health effects of the coronavirus pandemic on people in need of care and their care providers. The preliminary results of the multi-center cohort study have now been presented to an expert audience in Munich. The study of around 1,000 participants will run until 31 December 2023.

In addition to the Institute of General Medicine, the interdisciplinary study team also included scientists from Infectiology and Laboratory Medicine at LMU Hospital, LMU Sociology, the Institutes of General Medicine at the University Hospitals of Erlangen and Würzburg and the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Munich. Over two years, patients in need of care after a SARS-CoV-2 infection were examined for physical and psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vision was: "Look - Listen" - and in this sense, around 500 nursing staff, general practitioners and family caregivers had their say in addition to the approximately 1000 patients included.

The symposium began with a poster presentation by the individual BaCoM working groups, which highlighted various aspects of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the consequences for physical and psychosocial health, the immunity of those in need of care, as well as medication safety and care processes. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ms. Ulrike Ostner (Bayerischer Rundfunk). The discussion focused on the consequences of the preliminary results and their implications for future crises, but also for the general care context. Against the backdrop of a growing number of people in need of care and a shortage of skilled workers - particularly in the care sector - we are facing major challenges that urgently need to be overcome in the coming years.

After a successful symposium, we would like to thank the Bavarian State Ministry for Health, Care and Prevention in particular for funding the BaCoM study, but also the participants in the panel discussion for their exciting contributions, as well as all the guests we were able to welcome to the Friedrich-von-Gärtner-Saal at St. Vinzenz Haus in Munich!