According to the answers of employers to the representative IAB establishment panel 2004, one-fifth of the companies in Germany voluntarily carried out or financially supported measures for the protection or promotion of the health and well-being of their work force. The proportion of health-promoting companies was above average in all East German federal states as well as in Bavaria, in Saarland and in Lower Saxony. North Rhine-Westphalia was precisely average. In East Germany, almost one-fourth and in West Germany just under one-fifth of all companies surveyed carry out health-promoting measures.Work-site health promotion varies considerably depending on the corresponding federal states, industrial branches and company sizes. Work-site health promotion has ,up to now, been concentrated in big companies and groups. An under-representation of work-site health promotion is observed above all in small and very small companies and particularly in the catering trade. Work-site health promotion was principally determined by analyses of sickness leaves and surveys on health protection in the work place which were mentioned in about 9% and 8% of the companies interviewed. 6% of the companies provided courses on health-relevant ways of behaviour. About 4% of the companies maintain health circles and 5% realised other health promoting measures. Further correlation analyses reveal that in companies with a workers council/staff council, work-site health promotion was significantly much more common. This correlation is especially strong in small and medium-size companies. The longitudinal analysis of the IAB establishment panel 2002 and 2004 reveals much dynamism in work-site health promotion. On the one hand, half of the companies involved in work-site health promotion in 2002 had stopped their commitment to work-site health promotion by 2004. Sustainability remains one of the biggest challenges in work-site health promotion. On the other hand, a bit more than one tenth of the repeatedly interviewed companies started health-promoting activities in 2004. According to the longitudinal data set, altogether 29% of the companies were reached by work-site health promotion measures (for the years 2002 and 2004).

Only a minority of establishments are committed to workplace health promotion, while these establishments provide the majority of jobs in Germany. Our analysis displays considerable disparities in terms of prevalence as well as potential for further extensions. This could be taken more into account when discussing innovative approaches of workplace health promotion.

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ZusammenfassungMehr als die Hälfte der deutschen Bevölkerung hat Schwierigkeiten im Umgang mit Gesundheitsinformationen. Es ist eine wichtige Aufgabe der Versorgungsforschung zu untersuchen, wie sich die Professionen und Organisationen des Gesundheitssystems dieser Herausforderung stellen können. Das DNVF Memorandums Gesundheitskompetenz (Teil 1) nimmt Begriffsbestimmungen der individuellen und organisationalen Gesundheitskompetenz vor, präsentiert den nationalen und internationalen Forschungsstand und stellt ethische Aspekte der versorgungsbezogenen Gesundheitskompetenzforschung dar. Weiterhin wird die Relevanz der Gesundheitskompetenzforschung in verschiedenen Lebensphasen, bei unterschiedlichen Personengruppen sowie in verschiedenen Kontexten der Gesundheits- und Krankenversorgung erarbeitet. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden zentrale Forschungsgegenstände und zukünftige Forschungsdesiderata abgeleitet.

Health conferences are a special management instrument of health policy. Less is known about the distribution. There is a lack of systematic evaluation methods.This overview is based on comprehensive literature, data base and internet searches about health conferences in Germany.The establishment of structured conferences is derived from funding projects of the federal states or local initiatives which began in different phases and with various emphases. The strategies varied from individual actions to an implementation in the whole state. Currently there are altogether 130 health conferences in Germany for approximately one third of the county and city districts in 13 federal states. The federal states assist health conferences by providing financial support, health policy, support by health authorities and regulations in the law. In the majority of the cases the office is located within the public health service. There is a great diversity in the composition of the stakeholders and in the contents. A systematic monitoring and outcome evaluation was conducted only in a few cases. Those studies predominantly report positive results but also promoting and inhibiting factors. They referred to restrictions.Health conferences are broadly disseminated, especially in west Germany. They offer opportunities for a community health management. There is a need for more intensive exchange and evaluation to improve their development.