Heidelberg University Hospital
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health
Global Health

Participatory Methods for Planetary Health

We are an interdisciplinary research group bringing together expertise from medicine, geography, biology, education and public health, with a shared commitment to improving the health of people and the planet. Our work responds to the need for research approaches that can capture the complex interconnections between human, animal, and environmental systems. We develop and apply participatory qualitative and quantitative methods, adapting established approaches to better engage with place, practice, and multispecies interactions in planetary health research.

Recent projects
  • JOVEM: Exploring the impact of climate change on the mental health and well-being of young people in Brazil, and the sources of their resilience
  • CHILD: Conservation, Health, Interaction, and Learning for Disease and Spillover Prevention
  • CHW-STRESS: Community Healthcare Workers and Heat Stress
  • ACCESS4ALL:  Southern-led climate change curriculum co-creation
  • PANDA: A One Health research project that investigates the complex interactions that drive zoonotic spillover and emerging infectious diseases
Recent publications

Budrudzaman, M., Bärnighausen, K., Selim, S., & Irfanullah, H. M. (2025). Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink: qualitatively unraveling the nuances of non-economic loss and damage in Bangladesh. Local Environment, 30(12), 1530-1549

 

Maina, T. W., Williams, C., Jaenisch, T., Bärnighausen, T., Berner-Rodoreda, A., & Bärnighausen, K. (2025). “Heat is a danger to my health even though I said I am used to it”: Qualitative insights of workplace heat among community health workers and health promoters in Kenya. PLOS Climate, 4(12), e0000748.

 

Vedlog Kveen, K., Lilier, K., Råberg Kjøllesdal, M. K., Naranjo-Zolotov, M., Lapanun, P., Veiga, I., ... & Bärnighausen, K. (2025). Public health messaging and community engagement during COVID-19: a rapid-review from the Greater Mekong Subregion. One Health Outlook.

 

Lilier, K., Bärnighausen, K., Kuczius, T., Jaeger, V. K., Basoglu, A., Karch, A., ... & Ahrens, H. (2025). Targeting the gap of planetary health education in medical teaching: A student-led initiative develops the course “Klima-LIMETTE” on climate change and health using simulated patients. GMS Journal for Medical Education, 42(4), Doc48.

 

Lilier, K., Dalglish, S. L., Reñosa, M. D. C., Selim, S. A., Raihan, S. T., Islam, R., ... & Bärnighausen, K. (2025). The “most beautiful place” where “it’s not possible to live”: A qualitative study of relational well-being in an area of climate vulnerability, Bangladesh. Plos one, 20(9), e0325972.

 

Goymann, H., Berner-Rodoreda, A., Mavuso, M., McMahon, S., Matse, S., Jahn, A., & Bärnighausen, K. (2025). “If I wasn’ta pastor, I would be telling them about condoms, contraceptives and PrEP”—conflicts, dilemmas and credibility: qualitative insights from religious leaders and the promotion of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Eswatini. BMJ Global Health, 10(4).

Team Members

Group Leader

Dr. Kate Bärnighausen

Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3

69120 Heidelberg

Email: kate.baernighausen@uni-heidelberg.de