Health Promotion

A variety of factors positively or negatively affect the well-being and health of the individual and the general population. Clean water and uncontaminated food, living and working conditions, material opportunity and equality of opportunity, mental stress or social support, safety from violence and infection, physical activity, and use of stimulants are just a few examples. The prevention of illness is especially effective if coupled with changes in behaviour and circumstances. Health promotion also examines resources and protective factors and not just risk factors.

---

Prevention and health promotion provide opportunities to improve the quality of life, prolong the number of years people remain in good health, extend their working life, and ensure the affordability of quality health care. In health promotion practice, and also in view of the demands on the public purse and the limited resources of service providers, it is becoming increasingly important to call for quality criteria for health promotion measures and to demonstrate their effectiveness and economic viability. This requires specialists with scientific expertise who are able to assess practice, conduct research for scientific evidence, and evaluate measures. There is an accumulated need in this area, not just in Germany.