A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Scientist Helena Jambor Receives 2026 German Patient Safety Award

The German Patient Safety Award, presented annually by the German Coalition for Patient Safety (Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit, APS), recognises outstanding projects and scientific work that promote patient safety through innovative ideas and initiatives. This year’s award ceremony will take place in Berlin on 17 September as part of the events marking World Patient Safety Day. The first prize will go to Dr Helena Jambor, a biologist and data scientist at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons in Chur and at the Faculty of Medicine of TUD Dresden University of Technology, working with the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden, for her study on the use of visual aids in oncology care.

Thanks to extensive research, treatments and prognoses for many types of cancer are continuously improving. However, this does not change the fact that cancer treatment is generally complex and time-consuming. Conventional, text-based explanations of treatment methods and courses of treatment can be difficult for patients to understand. In particular, older patients and people whose first language is not the language used in the healthcare setting may find it difficult to understand the proposed treatment options and make informed decisions as a result.

To improve communication between physicians and patients, Dr Helena Jambor, Prof Martin Bornhäuser, Director of the University Cancer Center (UCC) and Department of Medicine I at Dresden University Hospital, and Prof Sebastian Pannasch, an engineering psychologist at TUD, have worked with other colleagues to develop visual aids that help patients understand treatment plans.

A study conducted in collaboration with the NCT/UCC Dresden Patient Advisory Board found that the visual aids were easy to follow and increased patients’ understanding and sense of security during treatment. “During the clinical evaluation, the patients demonstrated that they were able to understand and follow the treatment plans significantly better,” explains Helena Jambor. “Their satisfaction increased considerably as a result of the information provided, an assessment that was also confirmed by the physicians responsible for their care.”

One of these physicians is senior physician Dr Karolin Trautmann-Grill, who regularly uses the visual treatment plans during her consultations: “The medical staff use the plan to structure discussions with patients. Patients, in turn, use it to take notes and formulate additional questions later at home. Overall, the visual treatment plans make consultations between doctors and patients considerably easier and more efficient and, above all, make them easier for patients to understand.”

“I am delighted to receive this award. It confirms an approach that I also pursue in my other research: what matters is presenting data and information in a way that makes it understandable to everyone. This applies to scientists, physicians and, above all, the patients themselves. Visual aids are key to achieving this, and the award motivates us to continue consistently along this path,” says Helena Jambor.

Background: German Coalition for Patient Safety (APS)
The German Coalition for Patient Safety (Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit e. V., APS) was founded in 2005 by representatives of the healthcare professions and their professional associations, patient organisations, and industry and business. Its aim was to establish a joint platform for improving patient safety in Germany. The non-profit organisation is committed to safe healthcare and focuses on researching, developing and disseminating suitable methods to achieve this goal. Representatives of the healthcare professions and their professional associations, patient organisations, industry and business are involved in the German Coalition for Patient Safety.
Information about the organisation: https://www.aps-ev.de/

Overview of the 2026 award recipients: https://www.aps-ev.de/awards/deutscher-preis-fuer-patientensicherheit/

Contact:
Anne-Stephanie Vetter
Staff Unit Public Relations of the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine
of TUD Dresden University of Technology
National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden
Tel.: +49 (0) 351 458 17903
anne-stephanie.vetter@tu-dresden.de