Structure and mission of the Institute for Diversity Medicine
Diversity shapes health. The Institute for Diversity Medicine at the Ruhr University Bochum investigates how various biological and socio-cultural factors shape and influence medical evidence and health care. We aim to lay the foundations for context-aware medicine in science, teaching, and healthcare.
The Institute of Diversity Medicine was founded in 2023 by Prof. Marie von Lilienfeld-Toal. It is the first, and so far the only, university institute in Germany to focus comprehensively on the investigation and systematisation of diversity factors in medicine.
Our mission is to lay the foundation for context-aware medicine. This means that, for each medical context, we identify and account for the factors relevant to prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and aftercare.
Research approach
Systematically recording diversity factors requires clear points of reference. In doing so, we refer to international framework systems:
Social Determinants of Health der WHO
The circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as their access to resources.
Diversity Charter
The seven diversity dimensions defined by the Diversity Charter: Age, migration history and nationality, gender and gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion and belief, sexual orientation, and social background.
At the centre of our research are fundamental questions that have not yet been answered: When are diversity factors themselves the cause of observed phenomena? And when do they appear as confounding variables, while the actual cause has yet to be recognised?
Current research priorities
In our projects, we integrate basic research with clinical practice. Our current research focuses on the systematic classification of diversity-related factors in medicine, diversity-sensitive oncology, and medical care in existential situations.
Structure and networking
As an institute, we place strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and broad-based networking. Our organisational structure facilitates low-threshold exchange between basic research, clinical practice, and societal dialogue.