Julia Quitmann

Julia Quitmann is a Research Professor and Head of Research Group at the Department of Medical Psychology within the Faculty of Medicine at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). Her work focuses on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment in pediatric populations, with a particular emphasis on rare diseases, short stature, and congenital anomalies. She leads studies evaluating psychosocial impacts of chronic conditions in children and their families, including interventions to improve care experiences.

Her research integrates cross-cultural validation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), emphasizing instruments like the Esophageal-Atresia-Quality-of-Life (EA-QOL) questionnaires and the Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth (QoLISSY) tool. Collaborations span 14 countries, addressing disparities in healthcare access and mental health support for families affected by rare diseases.

Key areas include: (1) psychosocial care pathways for rare disease families, (2) coping strategies in children with congenital anomalies, (3) impact of growth hormone therapy on HRQoL, and (4) mental health integration in multidisciplinary rare disease clinics. Ongoing projects involve randomized controlled trials assessing family interventions and pretend play therapies for pediatric cancer patients.

Dr. Quitmann has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to WHO-endorsed quality-of-life frameworks. Her team operates within the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, collaborating with the European Liquid Biopsy Society and Hamburg School of Oncology. She advises on clinical trial design for orphan drugs and chairs the ZSE-DUO consortium evaluating mental health integration in rare disease diagnostics.