Research Interest

My PhD research focuses on non-randomized study designs. These study designs are especially important when evaluating complex public health interventions. In particular, the objective of my PhD research is to assess publication, application and especially study design characteristics of controlled before-after (CBA) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies. In a second step, the insights gained from this analysis will help me put together an own ITS study assessing a public health intervention.

Supervisor

Prof. Dr. Eva Rehfuess

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

2015-presentPhD Student at PhD Medical Research – Epidemiology and Public Health, LMU Munich
2010-2012 Master of Public Health, LMU, Munich
2006-2009 Bachelor of Science in European Public Health, Maastricht University, Maastricht,
the Netherlands

WORK EXPERIENCE

2015-presentGraduate research assistant, Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), Universität
Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany
2014-presentGraduate research assistant, Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology
(IBE), LMU
2012-2015 Project Manager for Maternal Health and Prevention, European Foundation for the Care of
Newborn Infants (EFCNI), Munich, Germany
2012 Consultant, Department of Reproductive Health and Research (RHR), World Health
Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland

Publications

PEER REVIEWD

Polus S, Pieper D, Burns J, Fretheim A, Ramsay C, Mathes T, Higgins JPT, Pfadenhauer LM, Rehfuess EA (2016). Heterogeneity in application, design and analysis characteristics was found for controlled before-after (CBA) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies included in Cochrane reviews. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. In submission process.

von Philipsborn P, Stratil JM, Burns J, Busert LK, Pfadenhauer LM, Polus S, Holzapfel C, Hauner H, Rehfuess EA. Environmental interventions to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and their effects on health (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2016

Polus, S., Lewin, S., Glenton, C., Lerberg, P. M., Rehfuess, E., & Gülmezoglu, A. M. (2015). Optimizing the delivery of contraceptives in low-and middle-income countries through task shifting: a systematic review of effectiveness and safety. Reproductive health, 12(1), 27.

Polus S, Lerberg P, Vogel J, Watananirun K, Souza JP, Mathai M, Gülmezoglu AM. Appraisal of four WHO Guidelines in Maternal Health using the AGREE II Assessment Tool – a Case Study (2012). PLoS One. 7(8):e38891. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038891. Epub 2012 Aug 13.

Burns J, Polus S, Brereton L, Ward S, Chilcott J, Pfadenhauer LM, Rehfuess E. Effectiveness of home-based and reinforced home-based palliative care: a systematic review with semi-structured expert consultations. Submission in process.

Burns J, Boogaard H, Turley R, Pfadenhauer LM, Polus S, van Erp AM, Rohwer AC, Rehfuess EA. Interventions to reduce ambient particulate matter air pollution and their effect on health (full review in progress). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

OTHER

Wahlster P, Brereton L, Burns J, Hofmann B, Mozygemba K, Oortwijn W, Pfadenhauer LM, Polus, S, Rehfuess E, Schilling I, Van Hoorn R, Van Der Wilt GJ, Baltussen R, Gerhardus A. Guidance on the integrated assessment of complex health technologies - The INTEGRATE-HTA Model [Online]. 2016. Available from: http://www.integrate-hta.eu/downloads/

Brereton, L., Wahlster, P., Lysdahl, K.B., Mozygemba, K., Burns, J., Chilcott, J.B., Ward, S., Brönneke, J.B., Tummers, M., Van Hoorn, R., Pfadenhauer, L., Polus, S., Ingleton, C., Gardiner, C., Van Der Wilt, G.J., Gerhardus, A., Rohwer, A., Rehfuess, E., Oortwijn, W., Refolo, P., Sacchini, D., Leppert, W., Blazeviciene, A., Spagnolo A.G., Preston, L., Clark, J., Goyder, E. on behalf of the INTEGRATE-HTA project team (2016). Integrated assessment of home based palliative care with and without reinforced caregiver support: ‘A demonstration of INTEGRATE-HTA methodological guidances’ – Executive Summary [Online]. Available from: http://www.integrate-hta.eu/downloads/

Mader S. & Polus S. Europas Herausforderung Nachsorge von Frühgeborenen oder kranken Neugeborenen. Kinder und Jugend Medizin. 2014.