Rethinking care – self-help innovations for families and partners
Science-Practice Forum, January 13, 2026
Rethinking Care: Research and Practice in Dialogue
How do families manage everyday life with children who have high support and care needs? The answer often lies in so-called “care treasures” (Pflegeschätze)—innovative everyday solutions that parents develop themselves. On January 13, 2026, teams from TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences Cologne) and Munich University of Applied Sciences presented the key findings of their three-year research and development project in a digital forum. Around 60 participants from academia, professional practice, and self-help organizations took part in the two-hour event.
What are “care treasures”?
At the outset, Prof. Dr. Isabel Zorn, Johanna Krieser, Britta Levering, and Laura Blasius from TH Köln explained the project’s core concept: so-called “care treasures.” These are practical, innovative solutions that parents develop in their daily care routines to reduce strain and improve quality of life. Making this experiential knowledge visible, systematically documenting it, and making it accessible to other families is a central aim of the interdisciplinary research project.
Research and methodology: Co-creative and digital
In several pitches, the project teams presented innovative methodological approaches and study findings:
- Co-creative methods: Formats in which parents and researchers jointly developed care innovations.
- Messenger treasure hunt: A digital data-collection approach that allows families to document their solutions directly from everyday life via messenger apps.
- Quality of life study: Prof. Dr. Astrid Herold-Majumdar and Britta Darchinger from Munich University of Applied Sciences provided insights into the accompanying study, which situates the significance of everyday relief strategies for quality of life within a scientific framework.
Dialogue with a transfer perspective
In the second part of the forum, participants discussed these topics in three thematically focused innovation forums. The discussions made clear the strong interest in approaches that understand care not only as a burden, but also as a source of knowledge and competence.
Detailed information about the project and its results is available at pflegeschaetze.de. The forum presentations can also be downloaded there.
February 2025
