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The beginnings of Medical Sociology at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf date back to the late 1960's. At that point Klaus Dörner, senior physician of the psychiatric and neuropathic clinic, accepted a socio-medical teaching position in medical sociology. Being a doctor as well as a sociologist, Klaus Dörner was designated to strive for widespread reforms. The student movement and the legal changes of training regulations for doctors (1970) created conditions for a comprehensive reform discussion. This discussion gained importance in the commission for study reforms and faculty board as professors, assistents and students had the same right to vote (a third each). Under these conditions tutors were established in medical sociology. Likewise, tutorials were committed to questions of current health policies and academical discourse. Already during reforms a personnel structure was decided upon (two professors, two scientific assistants, one technical assistant and one secretary).
Firstly, scientific assistents were assigned to the then still faculty-dependent department (1974). Alf Trojan and Heiko Waller, both doctors and sociologists, made up an ideal team with Dörner - who was experienced in questions of reform policies - in oder to address unresolved questions of psychiatric care. Waller left the team in 1979 and took on an appointment for Social Medicine at the University of Applied Sciences in Lüneburg, however, he kept in close touch regarding research. 1979 Alf Trojan initiated Health Self-Help and Network Research and organised the present-day working group "Health Promotion" around it. The committee "Social Sciences and Health", which was also initiated by Trojan, developed into an umbrella organisation for several health service groups in Hamburg, amonst others the Contact and Information Centre for Self-Help Groups (KISS).
In 1975 Heidrun Kaupen-Haas, sociologist, was appointed professor and was then responsible for the management of the department. At the end of the decade, together with Wilfried Karmaus, doctor and sociologist, Heidrun Kaupen-Haas initiated research on rheumatic diseases based on conditions of degeneration . In the 1980s she developed - in co-operation with the in 1984 established "Society for research of health and social policies of national socialists" and the hence established "Hamburg foundation for social history of the 19th century" - the main research activity of population policy in historic and international comparison.
Research concerning work related illnesses developed into the internationally renowned subject of social epidemiology by Karmaus during the 80s. In his research, he included projects about rheumatic illnesses based on conditions of degeneration, consumption of medication by women and hazardous substances in Hamburg kindergardens.
Hanneli Döhner, sociologist, firstly employed as technical assistent in 1975, was part of the team as scientific officer from 1978 onwards. In recent years she established the nationally and internationally renowned area of social gerontology in the department. The main focus here is the research of structures of health care and health security for the elderly.
In 1985 the direct connection to the faculty was replaced by creating an independent Department of Medical Sociology with two divisions and an optional third division for the area of social medicine. H. Kaupen-Haas was head of division I, A. Trojan, who was appointed professor in 1984, was head of division II. Wilfried Karmaus was assigned to division I, H. Döhner was assigned to division II. In 1989 Beate Ritz, medical doctor, accepted the department research assistent position, formerly occupied by W. Karmaus (both are professors for epidemiology in the USA in the meantime).
After the retirement of Prof. Heidrun Kaupen-Haas in 2004, Dr. Olaf von dem Knesebeck was appointed Professor in her place.
After the retirement of Prof. Alf Trojan in 2010, Prof. Dr. Hans-Helmut König was appointed Professor in his place, establishing the chair for Health Services Research and Health Economics.
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