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The article discusses rulings by the Bundessozialgericht (BSG - Federal Social Court) in Kassel, Germany, that for the purposes of pension benefits, specifies what territory is acknowledged as "Germany" based on a judgment at the end of 1937 to include contemporary East Germany. The rulings run counter to East German head of state Erich Ηonecker's demand for recognition of two German states and citizenries.

The article discusses an October ruling of the Bundessozialgericht (BSG - Federal Social Court) in Kassel, Germany that an employer is not obligated to pay wages during the employment incapacity of a worker injured in an auto accident who was not wearing a seat belt. The judgment applied to two cases in which accidents occurred respectively during working hours and during free time.

Background: The study determined if need for rehabilitation in work-related medical rehabilitation (WMR) is more frequently characterised by specific work-related problems than in conventional medical rehabilitation (MR)., Methods: In 6 rehabilitation centres, persons with back pain (M50, M51, M53, M54) were surveyed about work-related restrictions of work ability at begin of their rehabilitation., Results: Differences in work ability of WMR and MR patients confirmed need-related access. However, these differences were exclusively explained by screening-based access decisions. If access was not supported by a screening, WMR and MR patients did not differ. Decisions by rehabilitation centres compared with decisions by insurance agencies resulted in similar differences between WMR and MR patients., Conclusion: Screening-based decisions about access enable a more need-related access to WMR. As there were no differences between access decisions by rehabilitation centres and insurance agencies, access decisions can be realised already by the insurance agency., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between meaning in life and coping with trauma, and correlations between posttraumatic growth and mental health., Methods: The content and structure of the personal meaning systems of 62 patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed qualitatively. In addition, the participants completed questionnaires measuring meaning in life (LRI-r-d; MLQ), PTSD symptoms (IES-R), depression (BDI-II), health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), satisfaction with life (SWLS) and posttraumatic growth (PPR-r)., Results: A stronger sense of meaning in life and a more elaborately structured personal meaning system correlated with a better mental health and more posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth was also associated with mental health., Conclusions: Patients with coherent personal meaning systems are more successful in coping with traumatic life events. They also reported more posttraumatic growth.

Vocational orientation in medical rehabilitation has become an important issue in rehabilitation science and practice in Germany. Although a variety of vocationally oriented interventions has been developed in recent years, there is still a lack of consensus with regard to the definition of specific types of interventions as well as relevant criteria (e. g., methods; instruments; duration/frequency; patient groups). Building on preliminary definitions, basic types of vocationally oriented measures/interventions were conceptually modified and refined in the context of a consensual process. 39 experts of various professions were contacted during a 2-stage Delphi survey to evaluate existing definitions of vocationally oriented interventions using key questions. Standardized descriptions of 5 vocationally oriented basic interventions were specified in cooperation with an interdisciplinary panel of experts. Descriptions were published in a workbook and a homepage for researchers and clinicians, which also contain information on the implementation of measures into rehabilitative care as well as good practice examples. The media developed in this project may contribute to the transfer of research results on vocationally oriented rehabilitation into health care practice., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Dissection courses in human anatomy are laborious, and new teaching tools have become available. Therefore, some universities intend to reduce the dissection course. Furthermore, little is known about dissection courses in African universities. The aim of this study is to compare the students' experiences with and evaluations of the dissection courses in two universities: Leipzig (Germany) and Gondar (Ethiopia). Since the Gondar Medical College was founded in cooperation with the Leipzig University in 1978, the anatomy courses in both universities follow roughly the same rules. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the dissection courses from the students' point of view. The sample of students consisted of 109 German and 124 Ethiopian first year undergraduate medical students. Most students in both countries (94% in Germany and 82% in Ethiopia) judge the dissection course to be highly relevant compared to other courses. Perceived health hazards associated with dissection of the cadaver show significant differences between Germany (14%) and Ethiopia (44%). Most students had normal feelings again at the end of the dissection course. Further similarities and differences between the courses in Germany and Ethiopia are described. Dissection courses are highly appreciated also in Africa. The high degree of affirmation of the dissection courses should be taken into consideration when discussing modifications of gross anatomy curriculum or changes in the teacher to student ratio., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this paper is to outline a current trend in inpatient medical rehabilitation in Germany, i.e. vocationally oriented medical rehabilitation (VOMR). Since employment-related demands and challenges pose a potential source of strain regarding employees' health and work ability, rehabilitative treatment in Germany is increasingly geared towards including work-related issues in diagnostics and therapy. To date, German rehabilitation research and practice have focussed primarily on the development of screening instruments for identifying vocational problems, interface management and inter-sectoral cooperation and the specification and standardisation of vocationally oriented interventions and programmes (e.g. work hardening, group interventions). Further developments in VOMR should examine the varying needs of patients for work-related interventions as well as the neglect of specific subgroups of patients (e.g. long-term unemployed) and topics (e.g. interference between work and other life domains).

Objectives: This study investigated differences in the personal meaning systems of psychotherapists and psychotherapy patients as well as correlations between meaning in life and mental health., Methods: We qualitatively assessed the content and structure of the personal meaning systems of 41 psychotherapists and 77 psychotherapy patients. In addition, the participants completed questionnaires measuring meaning in life (LRI-r-d), sense of coherence (SOC-9L), self-esteem (RSES), satisfaction with life (SWLS), self-efficacy (SWK), and depression (BDI)., Results: The personal meaning systems of psychotherapists were more complex and coherent compared to psychotherapy patients. In the group of psychotherapy patients, a more elaborate structure of the personal meaning system correlated with the subjective sense of meaning. We were able to confirm correlations between meaning in life and mental health for most of the instances., Conclusions: Psychotherapists had more elaborate and coherent meaning systems than psychotherapy patients. Especially for psychotherapy patients elaborate and coherent meaning systems turned out to be important for mental health.