Primary health care and nursing

Providing high-quality, comprehensive care for people with complex health needs requires innovative approaches to care provision. Strengthening primary health care is essential to achieving this goal. In this research area, we focus on how these advancements can be realized, as well as on the opportunities and challenges they present for nursing professionals. The key objectives are:

1. Conducting cross-country and comparative analyses of innovative approaches in primary health care.

2. Producing theoretically and empirically sound knowledge to support the adoption of innovations and the development of care models.

Key areas of interest include: health promotion and preventive care, participation of individuals, families and communities in primary health care, psychosocial and mental health care, community-oriented primary care, expanding the roles and responsibilities of nurses, community health nursing, interprofessional collaboration, leadership and teamwork, and fostering decent working environments in nursing.

Publications (selection)

  • Franco, C. M., Bula, D., Toso, B. R. G. d. O., Giovanella, L., & Hämel, K. (2025). Nurse‒physician interprofessional collaboration in the context of expanding nursing practice in primary health care: A comparative qualitative study of Brazil and Germany. BMC Nursing, 24(1), 259. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02885-5
  • Enebeli, M. O., Saint, V. A., & Hämel, K. (2024). Nurses’ health promotion practices in rural primary health care in Nigeria. A qualitative study. Health Promotion International, 39(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae120
  • Luisi, D., & Hämel, K. (2024). Understandings of community participation and empowerment in primary health care in Emilia-Romagna, Italy: A qualitative interview study with practitioners and stakeholders. PLOS ONE, 19(9), e0310137. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310137
  • Kafczyk, T., & Hämel, K. (2024). Challenges and opportunities in strengthening primary mental healthcare for older people in India: a qualitative stakeholder analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 206. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10622-y
  • Zimansky, M., Hazim, B., Klukas, E., Hamacher, M., van de Sand, H., Gustaevel, M., Wiegelmann, S., & Hämel, K. (2024). Interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit von Hausärzt_innen und Pflegefachpersonen in der Primärversorgung. Eine qualitative Studie. Pflege, 37(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1024/1012-5302/a000942
  • Herzog, M., Schönfelder, B., Barton, M., Gugler, P., Aghaizu, C., Nagl-Cupal, M., & Mayer, H. (2024). Pflegerische Qualifikationsniveaus und Umsetzung von Aufgaben für eine Advanced Nursing Practice in Österreich. Pflege, 37(2), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1024/1012-5302/a000985
  • Ertel, M. & Fleischmann, N. (2023). Interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit im deutschen und französischen Gesundheitssystem: Medizin und Pflege in ambulanten Versorgungsstrukturen. Pflegewissenschaft, 25(6), 292–300.
  • Heumann, M., Röhnsch, G., Zabaleta‐del‐Olmo, E., Toso, B. R. G. de O., Giovanella, L., & Hämel, K. (2023). Barriers to and enablers of the promotion of patient and family participation in primary healthcare nursing in Brazil, Germany and Spain: A qualitative study. Health Expectations, 26(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13843
  • Veiga, A. C. da, Medeiros, L. da S. de, Backes, D. S., Sousa, F. G. M. de, Hämel, K., Kruel, C. S., & Haeffner, L. S. B. (2023). Interprofessional qualification of prenatal care in the context of primary health care. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 28(4), 993-1002. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232023284.14402022en
  • Neugebauer, T., Brzoska, P., Wrona, K., Yilmaz-Aslan, Y., & Hämel, K. (2022). Interprofessionelle Kommunikation in der Primärversorgung – Fördernde und hemmende Aspekte. Ein narratives Review. Pflegewissenschaft, 24(4), 241-249. https://doi.org/10.3936/12104
  • Hämel, K.*, Röhnsch, G.*, Heumann, M., Backes, D. S., Toso, B. R. G. de O., & Giovanella, L. (2022). How do nurses support chronically ill clients’ participation and self-management in primary care? A cross-country qualitative study. BMC Primary Care, 23, 85. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01687-x (*shared first authorship)
  • Kafczyk, T., & Hämel, K. (2021). Primary mental health care for older persons in India: how age-inclusive are public policies? Health Policy and Planning, 36(9), 1371-1383. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czab067
  • Luisi, D., & Hämel, K. (2021). Community participation and empowerment in primary health care in Emilia-Romagna: A document analysis study. Health Policy, 125(2), 177-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.11.007
  • Hämel, K., Toso, B. R. G. de O., Casanova, A., & Giovanella, L. (2020). Advanced Practice Nursing in Primary Health Care in the Spanish National Health System. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 25(1), 303-314. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232020251.28332019