Revealing diagnostic results to scientific subjects

Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent cause of death in Germany. To improve preventions and treat­ments of such, the »German Center for Cardiovascular Disease« (DZHK) conducts a scientific study in which the blood, heart, gut microbiome and genomes of 1,200 Germans are examined. Those results are not only of great interest for scien­tists and physicians all over the world, but are also mean­ingful for the subjects themselves. Unfortunately, subjects hardly ever receive them, and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to interpret the highly complex data on their own. The master’s thesis »Statusplus« is a website designed for the 200 subjects of the DZHK study in Kiel. This allows them to explore their results in an easily intelligible way, in a safe, medically evaluated environment where they can learn about their body and health. The master’s thesis is the current result of an ongoing cooperation scheme with the »University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein« (UKSH) and the »Institute of Clini­cal Molecular Biology« (IKMB).