MasterMatch

The Health in Society Research Network operates the MasterMatch matching platform to promote transdisciplinary collaboration and socially relevant research. 

MasterMatch connects Master's students at the University of Vienna who wish to write a thesis on a health/medical topic with partners from the healthcare sector, civil society, politics, administration or business who provide research questions from their fields of work.

Practice partners can submit questions twice a year (on 28 February and 30 September) that arise from their fields of work and on which they would like to initiate student research. These can be very specific questions, but also rough outlines that will be refined in the course of the cooperation.

The research network brings the topics to its members and their employees in order to attract supervisors for as many topics as possible. The list of research questions and supervisors is then published on the research network's website and made available to students.

The cooperation takes place between the student, the supervisor and the practice partner. The research network is not involved in the cooperation after the matching process has been completed.

It is up to the cooperation partners to decide how they want to structure their cooperation. We recommend at least four meetings:

1. Refine, adapt or expand the research question; Discuss framework conditions, wishes and expectations and record them in the cooperation agreement; then sign the cooperation agreement.
2. Discuss the detailed research concept and further steps (e.g. finding interview partners, access to databases, etc.).
3. Discuss interim results and open questions.
4. Discuss results (before or after submission of the Master's thesis).

Once the student has submitted the master's thesis and policy brief to the research network, the research network publishes both documents on its website and pays out the second instalment of the scholarship. This concludes the collaboration.

Practise partner Frauengesundheitszentrum FEM

FEM is a health center for women, parents, and girls. They have made it their mission to promote and support a health-conscious lifestyle. As a point of contact, they offer support and advice on a wide range of issues and problems affecting physical and mental health.

Available topics:

1. Measuring the effectiveness of individual counselling sessions in other first languages (20 units) – Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Ukrainian
2. Comparison – measuring the effectiveness of individual counselling sessions (20 units) vs. measuring the effectiveness of short-term individual counselling sessions (single session treatment) in other first languages (Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Ukrainian)

Practise partner FEM / FEM-Elternambulanz 

Available topic:

1. Measuring the effectiveness of the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) clinical psychological screening procedure

Practise partner FEM Süd 

Available topics:

1. Counselling concept for short-term counselling – Which theoretical foundations (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy according to Beck) are particularly suitable for a counselling concept for short-term psychological counselling? How should a counselling concept be structured (session structure, methods)? How does short-term counselling differ from classical psychotherapy?
2. Counselling concept for short-term counselling – Which factors are particularly relevant in short-term counselling (e.g., goal orientation, resource activation, working relationship)?
3. Counselling concept for short-term counselling – Which diagnostic tools are useful and practical for short-term counselling?
4. Effect of gender- and culture-sensitive health circles on employees and their impact on the workplace

Practise partner Pro Choice Austria

Pro Choice Austria – Platform for Free Abortion sees itself as part of the international feminist movement that campaigns for the reproductive self-determination rights of women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans, and agender people. In particular, they fight for free and safe access to legal abortions. The health and self-determination of pregnant person and political action against patriarchal power structures are at the heart of their work.

Available topics:

1. Care provision for people with unwanted pregnancies – data collection in one or more federal states on how many doctors offer abortions