Health Surveillance at Constructor University Bremen (CUB) (CUB-HS2025)

September 10, 2026 updated by: Prof. Dr. Sonia Lippke, Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH

Health Surveillance by Constructor University Bremen (CUB) to Assess Germany-wide Students' Health and Wellbeing - Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Approach

The aim of Health Surveillance is to analyze and describe the state of health of students at Constructor University, key influencing factors and individual resources by using mixed-method design.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The aim of Health Surveillance plus the additional research by means of qualitative interviews is to analyze and describe the state of stress and health of students at Constructor University (CU) by using a mixed-methods approach, as well as explore the association and mechanism between stress and health of students at CU, key influencing factors and individual resources. In areas where there is a need for action, the Health Surveillance plus this project the additional qualitative interviews can provide detailed insights and/or in-depth analyses. The Health Surveillance thus provides information on health-related topics and delivers scientifically sound information as a basis for health-promoting discussions in the subsequent follow-up process at various levels (e.g. faculties and departments). In addition, the Health Surveillance plus the additional interviews at CU contributes to comparability with surveys at other German universities through the use of validated and standardized measuring instruments and in-depth qualitative interviews with qualitative content analysis, as well as to add new constructs i.e. artificial intelligence and digital technology use as well as demo-cratic competences, as this turned out to be new and important factors.

Main hypotheses are

  1. The Health Surveillance gives insights into state of stress and health of students at CU, key influencing factors and individual resources by using a mixed-methods approach.
  2. With the Health Surveillance the health-promotion at CU by using a mixed-methods approach, as well as explore the association and mechanism between stress and health of students at CU, can be guided and promotion of mental health (including the reduction of loneliness and discrimination) can be strengthened.
  3. The health of students, their perceived stress, loneliness and discrimination/minorization (disadvantage) as well as substance use interrelates with participation in health promoting activities?
  4. Recommendations can be derived for qualification and skills training of multipliers for health-promoting behavior (e.g., J-peers)?

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

373

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

      • Bremen, Germany, 28759
        • Constructor University (formerly known as Jacobs University)
      • Bremen, Germany, 28759
        • Constructor University Bremen

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This project contains three phases, the first one is quantitative phase (2025), the second one is qualitative phase (Dec 2025-April 2026) and the third one is again quantitative phase (2026). All Constructor University students and students Germany-wide who wish to take part in the study will be included. In the quantitative phase, Iinclusion criteria are english English or German language for reading and writing skills, internet access and student status. In the qualitative phase, the inclusion criteria are English or Chinese language and between 18-30 years old. Before the start of the survey period and directly before the start of the online survey or interview, all participants will receive all relevant study information and actively declare their consent to participate in the study.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English language skills
  • Reading and writing skills
  • Internet access
  • Student status
  • Consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Illiteracy
  • Massively limited cognitive abilities ( i.e. linguistic components of the digital offerings must be able to be used, and questionnaires completed, or interviews participated in) and severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., severe depression)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
students in a community case study
Students at Constructor University Bremen being assessed by means of an online questionnaire in 2025
Questionnaires and interviews were primarily used as assessment and introspection tools to collect data on study participants' experiences, perceptions, and behaviors. Their purpose was to facilitate measurement and reflection rather than to deliver an intervention. However, it is acknowledged that participation in questionnaires and interviews may have had unintended interventional effects. Specifically, the process of answering questions and reflecting on personal experiences can increase participants' self-awareness, prompt critical reflection, and potentially influence subsequent attitudes or behaviors.
Other Names:
  • assessments
  • introspection
students in Germany
Students at germany wide being assessed by means of an online questionnaire or qualitative interviews in 2026
Questionnaires and interviews were primarily used as assessment and introspection tools to collect data on study participants' experiences, perceptions, and behaviors. Their purpose was to facilitate measurement and reflection rather than to deliver an intervention. However, it is acknowledged that participation in questionnaires and interviews may have had unintended interventional effects. Specifically, the process of answering questions and reflecting on personal experiences can increase participants' self-awareness, prompt critical reflection, and potentially influence subsequent attitudes or behaviors.
Other Names:
  • assessments
  • introspection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Loneliness
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)

University of California Los Angelese Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) - 3 Items (Schobin, Arriagada & Gibson-Kunze, 2024), Range 1 (never/nie) - 5 (very often/sehr oft), higher scores mean a worse outcome

Loneliness in private and study context - 9 Items (Techniker Krankenkasse, 2024), Range 1 (often) - 4 (never), higher scores mean better outcomes

2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Health literacy
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Health literacy - 10 Items (Lenartz, Söllner & Rudinger, 2014), Range 1 (does not apply/trifft überhaupt nicht zu) - 4 (does fully apply/trifft genau zu), higher scores mean a better outcome
2025 and 2026 (no matching)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depression and anxiety
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) - 4 Items (Kroenke, Spitzer, Williams & Löwe, 2009), Range 0 (not at all/überhaupt nicht) - 3 (nearly every day/beinahe jeden Tag), higher scores mean worse outcome
2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Student satisfaction
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Student satisfaction - 1 Item (Westermann, Heise, Spies & Trautwein, 1996), Range 0 (not at all satisfied/gar nicht zufrieden) - 100 (completely satisfied/vollkommen zufrieden), higher scores mean better outcome
2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Subjective health status
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Subjective health status- 1 Item (WHO, 1996); Range 1 (very good/sehr gut) - 5 (very poor/schlecht), higher score means worse outcome
2025 and 2026 (no matching)
HEI-Stress
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
Higher Education Institution Stress (HEI-Stress) - 3 Items (Schmidt, Sieverding, Scheiter & Obergfell, 2013), Range 0 (not at all stressed/gar nicht gestresst) - 100 (very stressed/sehr gestresst), higher scores mean worse outcome
2025 and 2026 (no matching)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Artificial intelligence and digital technology use
Time Frame: 2026
Artificial intelligence and digital technology use - 1 Item (adapted from Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1999), 1 Item (adapted from Zhang, Tan, Chew, Hew, & Choo, 2025), 2 Items (adapted from Chen, Y., Chen, G., & Chen, J., 2026), 3 Items (Norman & Skinner, 2006)]
2026
Democratic competences/ Political Effectiveness/ Efficiency
Time Frame: 2026
• Democratic competences - 4 Items (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2025; Die Einsamkeit junger Menschen ist eine Gefahr für die Demokratie)
2026
Belonging; Social Connectedness; Self-Efficacy and Health Behavior
Time Frame: 2025 and 2026 (no matching)
these outcomes were found to be interrelated with loneliness
2025 and 2026 (no matching)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sonia Lippke, PhD, Constructor University Bremen gGmbH & Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Germany

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 17, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 21, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

due to data security

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.