Katharina Eckert

Katharina Eckert is Professor of Health Management & Public Health at IST University since March 2019, where she heads the master's program Prevention, Sports Therapy and Health Management. She serves as spokesperson for the Science Section of the German Association for Health Sports and Sports Therapy (DVGS eV) and maintains active memberships in the German Network for Health Services Research (DNfV), German Society for Rehabilitation Sciences (DGRW), and German Association for Sports Science (dvs). Additionally, she acts as journal reviewer and external examiner for Brooks University in Oxford.

Her educational trajectory includes sports science studies with prevention/rehabilitation focus, a doctorate from Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, and habilitation from Leipzig University (2016). Practical experience spans outpatient/day-care sports therapy, AOK Neckar-Odenwald health insurance, and Rhein-Neckar district health authority roles.

Professor Eckert's research centers on physical activity as complementary therapy across lifespan populations, emphasizing real-world health promotion and care applications. Key domains include maternal exercise literacy, Long Covid rehabilitation, cancer survivorship, and geriatric health competence. Her work bridges clinical practice and policy development through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal strong trends in movement-based interventions: 60% address pediatric/adolescent populations (Long Covid, cancer recovery), 30% focus on adult health literacy/competencies, and 10% analyze health system frameworks. Geographically, 89% center on German healthcare contexts with increasing international collaborations. Methodologically, data pooling studies (44%) and position papers (33%) dominate her output, reflecting applied research priorities.

As academic leader, she mentors through master's program oversight and contributes to research networks including AG Bewegungsbezogene Versorgungsforschung and Netzwerk ActiveOncoKids (NAOK). Her conference engagements and journal reviews demonstrate active knowledge dissemination across European health services research communities.