International bridges: LMU General Practice cooperates in China
The Institute of General Practice at LMU is further expanding its international partnerships - with research and teaching collaborations in Hangzhou, Beijing and Kyoto. The focus is on two current topics of high social relevance: Vaccination readiness and post-ICU PTSD.
Vaccination readiness: Exchange in Hangzhou and Kyoto
The institute has been a member of the LMU China Academic Network (LMU ChAN) since 2016 and works closely with the Department of Social Medicine at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. At the end of August 2025, Prof. Jochen Gensichen and PD Dr. Linda Sanftenberg will hold a seminar there together with Prof. Hongmei Wang on the topic of "Vaccinations and quality improvement in primary care". The aim is to further deepen research into the willingness of adults with risk factors to be vaccinated.
The international stage will follow in September: the first results of the collaboration will be presented at the 19th Annual Vaccine Congress in Kyoto. Other contributions will deal with innovative digital approaches such as the AVA voice assistant to increase vaccination rates among cognitively impaired people and the influence of psychological comorbidities on the willingness of chronically ill people to be vaccinated.
Post-ICU-PTSD: Research in Beijing
Collaboration with the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, will also be further strengthened. Prof. Jochen Gensichen will present the results of a study on a narrative exposure intervention (NET). This GP-led brief intervention has proven to be effective in reducing symptoms of post-ICU PTSD and thus opens up new perspectives for primary care.
School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University
The project is funded by LMUexcellent as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Bavaria.
