Innovation fund of the Joint Federal Committee supports the project "Screen-free - Be there!"
New form of care in paediatric and adolescent practices for the prevention & treatment of dysregulated screen media use
From November this year, the Germany-wide, cluster-randomised intervention study "Screen-free - Be there!" will be launched to prevent screen-related health problems in children from the age of three. The study was initiated by Witten/Herdecke University and is being conducted in close cooperation with BVKJ-Service GmbH (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Berufsverband der Kinder- und Jugendärzt*innen e.V.), the BKK Landesverband Bayern and the Institute of Community Medicine at Greifswald University Hospital.
High media consumption and the associated long periods of screen time have a negative impact on children's development. The following health problems are associated with this: cognitive, (fine) motor and social-emotional abnormalities as well as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, socio-emotional behavioural problems such as AD(H)S, anxiety, depression or aggression, sleep problems, short-sightedness, diabetes mellitus and many more.
The selective contract-based study "Screen-free - be there!" aims to enable parents to keep their children's screen time to a healthy level. At the same time, the study aims to uncover early, unregulated screen time, teach a responsible and guideline-compliant approach to media and provide everyday alternatives and support services. To this end, a signal sticker with the three most important recommendations for children's screen media use is stuck into the yellow screening booklet (U-booklet) during the U7a examination to reinforce the medical discussion. In addition, previously trained paediatricians advise parents whose children have uncontrolled screen media use in a 15-minute intensive media coaching session. The intensive intervention will be evaluated through a dedicated process implementation and systematic app-based survey of parents and paediatricians with the addition of routine health insurance fund data.
- Duration: 01.11.2025 - 31.10.2028
- Participating Germanfederal states: All, Germany-wide.
- Project website: https://www.uni-wh.de/bildschirmfrei-sei-dabei
