[Generalists or Specialists? Interdisciplinarity in, and Scientific Development of, Public Health in Germany]

Interdisciplinarity is not only a constitutive element of public health; it also contributes significantly to the solution of complex public health problems. Only through the cooperation of different disciplines and professions can the diverse social and methodological-technical challenges of developing, implementing and evaluating health-related interventions be solved. In this context, public health in Germany is facing challenges in its further development, two of which we discuss here. Firstly, there is a gap between aspiration and reality of interdisciplinary research and teaching of public health. Secondly, related to that, there is an increasingly difficult balance between professional breadth and specialisation in the university education of future public health experts.