Research

Quality assurance is the basis of effective and efficient education. This includes the constant further development of the scientific foundations, and the review (evaluation) of the measures of the Federal Institute of Public Health.

In the fields of drug prevention, AIDS prevention and sex education, the Federal Institute of Public Health uses data from the nationwide studies it regularly conducts. They are the starting point for optimising existing measures and developing new ones. One particularly successful example is the representative survey "Public Awareness of AIDS", which is at the same time used as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of the AIDS campaign.

The results of the scientific studies and the evaluation studies, as well as expert reports and the documentation of professional conferences, are published, partly in the specialist booklet series "Research and Practice of Health Promotion". The aim of this specialist booklet series is to promote and expand the exchange between research and practice.

One central element of quality assurance is market observation and market analysis, the aim of which is to bring transparency to the confusing market of health promotion offerings. The results of these analyses are compiled in specialist databases that are then made accessible to the public for individual research.

The research and services of the Federal Institute of Public Health were evaluated by the Wissenschaftsrat (German Council of Science and Humanities) in 2007/2008. The statement issued by the Wissenschaftsrat, whose members are acknowledged scientists and experts, encourages the Federal Institute of Public Health to continue its adopted approach of science-based prevention and health promotion. The expert statement refers to the Federal Institute of Public Health as an efficient institution that works successfully in the field of health education and whose scientifically based campaigns make an essential contribution to health prevention in Germany.

Statement by the Wissenschaftsrat on the Federal Institute of Public Health (former Federal Centre for Health Education)
(PDF file, external link to www.wissenschaftsrat.de)