Simone Kreher

Simone Kreher is a Professor of Sociology of Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Hochschule Fulda, where she has been serving since September 2005. Her academic career spans several institutions, including Hochschule Neubrandenburg and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She is actively involved in teaching and research, focusing on qualitative methods and health-related sociological inquiry.

Research Interests: Her work centers on health and medical sociology, biographical research, and poverty studies. She leads a research project on families receiving basic security benefits (www.faleha.de), exploring lived experiences of social inequality. Her methodological expertise lies in qualitative empirical social research, particularly narrative and biographical analysis.

Publication Trends: Over the past two decades, her publications reflect a consistent focus on understanding health, illness, and social disadvantage through narrative and qualitative lenses. Themes include doctor-patient relationships, childhood in institutional care, intergenerational family dynamics, and rural health behaviors. Her work bridges sociology and healthcare practice, especially in nursing and primary care contexts.

Scientific Memberships:

• Member of the Section on Professional Sociology, German Sociological Association (DGS)
• Member of the Section on Knowledge Sociology, German Sociological Association (DGS)

Administrative and Academic Roles: She is a member of the Senate of Hochschule Fulda, contributing to university governance. Her teaching includes modules on Sociology of Health and Qualitative Research Methods. While no formal students are listed, she has collaborated extensively with researchers such as S. Brockmann, M. Sielk, and A. Wollny.

Laboratories and Research Groups: She leads or contributes to research initiatives in health sociology, particularly through the research project Faleha (families in basic security), which employs qualitative methods to explore social and health challenges in vulnerable populations.