[Sex survey research in Germany and Europe : Liebesleben (LoveLives): A pilot study into the sexual experiences, attitudes and relationships of adults in Germany]. / Sexsurveyforschung in Deutschland und Europa : Die Studie Liebesleben: Pilotstudie zu sexuellen Erfahrungen, Einstellungen und Beziehungen von Erwachsenen in Deutschland.

At the Hamburg Institute for Sex Research in Germany, a nationwide study is currently being carried out into the sexual experiences, attitudes and relationships of adults (18-75 years). The main focus of this pilot study is to test the comprehensibility and length of a data collecting instrument as well as the comparison of two data collecting methods with regard to reliability and representativeness of the results as well as of the refusal rate. To this end face-to-face interviews (n = 500) and questionnaires sent by post (n = 500) are to be compared with each other as methods. The data to be collected relates to sexuality, particularly the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The WHO definition of sexual health forms the basis for the study and thus connects up with the existing sex survey research in Europe and western industrial nations. Comparable surveys have been conducted over the past ten years in more than 30 European countries using a variety of methods. The focus of the study is placed upon the increase that has been observed for several years now in certain STIs. The article provides an overview of existing sex survey research in Europe. It becomes clear that the studies conducted so far are very heterogeneous with regard to chosen method, sampling techniques and the choice of content focus, so that no suitable data for cross-national comparability are currently available.

Considerations on establishing prevention reporting at the national level in Germany.

The adoption of the Preventive Health Care Act in July 2015 was a key step in strengthening settings-based health promotion and disease prevention. This increases the importance of developing prevention reporting at the national level. In light of international experiences, we therefore propose a multi-step process, which formulates specific goals based on epidemiologically grounded public health needs, which should then be addressed through appropriate intervention strategies. The implementation status of activities needs to be continuously documented and their effectiveness evaluated.

Editorial.

In November 2016, during a workshop organised by the Robert Koch Institute together with the Federal Centre for Health Education, we presented and discussed activities and models surrounding prevention reporting with health reporting representatives from the federal states. The motive for the event was the prevention report, which the National Prevention Conference will prepare every four years beginning in 2019 in order to document, monitor and evaluate its activities. The workshop revealed the desire of stakeholders to discuss survey methods and indicators and harmonise the different reporting systems in the long-term.

Methods and representativeness of a European survey in children and adolescents: the KIDSCREEN study.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to compare three different sampling and questionnaire administration methods used in the international KIDSCREEN study in terms of participation, response rates, and external validity. METHODS: Children and adolescents aged 8-18 years were surveyed in 13 European countries using either telephone sampling and mail administration, random sampling of school listings followed by classroom or mail administration, or multistage random sampling of communities and households with self-administration of the survey materials at home. Cooperation, completion, and response rates were compared across countries and survey methods. Data on non-respondents was collected in 8 countries. The population fraction (PF, respondents in each sex-age, or educational level category, divided by the population in the same category from Eurostat census data) and population fraction ratio (PFR, ratio of PF) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze differences by country between the KIDSCREEN samples and a reference Eurostat population. RESULTS: Response rates by country ranged from 18.9% to 91.2%. Response rates were highest in the school-based surveys (69.0%-91.2%). Sample proportions by age and gender were similar to the reference Eurostat population in most countries, although boys and adolescents were slightly underrepresented (PFR <1). Parents in lower educational categories were less likely to participate (PFR <1 in 5 countries). Parents in higher educational categories were overrepresented when the school and household sampling strategies were used (PFR = 1.78-2.97). CONCLUSION: School-based sampling achieved the highest overall response rates but also produced slightly more biased samples than the other methods. The results suggest that the samples were sufficiently representative to provide reference population values for the KIDSCREEN instrument.

Socioeconomic determinants of health related quality of life in childhood and adolescence: results from a European study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of two different socioeconomic status (SES) measures on child and adolescent self reported health related quality of life (HRQoL). The European KIDSCREEN project aims at simultaneous developing, testing, and implementing a generic HRQoL instrument. DESIGN AND SETTING: The pilot version of the questionnaire was applied in school surveys to students from 8 to 18 years of age, as well as to their parents, together with such determinants of health status as two SES indicators, the parental educational status and the number of material goods in the family (FAS, family affluence scale). PARTICIPANTS: Students from seven European countries: 754 children (39.8%; mean: 9.8 years), and 1142 adolescents (60.2 %; mean: 14.1 years), as well as their respective parents. MAIN RESULTS: In children, a higher parental educational status was found to have a significant positive impact on the KIDSCREEN dimensions: physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, moods and emotions, bullying and perceived financial resources. Increased risk of low HRQoL was detected for adolescents in connection with their physical wellbeing. Family wealth plays a part for children's physical wellbeing, parent relations and home life, and perceived financial resources. For adolescents, family wealth furthermore predicts HRQoL on all KIDSCREEN dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence to suggest that exposure to low parental educational status may result in a decreased HRQoL in childhood, whereas reduced access to material (and thereby social) resources may lead to a lower HRQoL especially in adolescence.

Health-related quality of life: gender differences in childhood and adolescence.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether gender and age differences can be found in different aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents, and to what extent these results correspond to theoretical and empirical findings from developmental psychology. METHODS: A newly developed HRQOL questionnaire was completed by 3,710 youths aged nine to 17 years in seven European countries. The "Kidscreen 52" questionnaire consists of 10 scales operationalising aspects of the physical, psychological and social dimensions of HRQOL. With the use of ANOVA and effect sizes, the influence of age and gender on aspects of HRQOL is reported. RESULTS: Children report a very good quality of life largely independent of gender. After 12 years, HRQOL decreases in the majority of aspects. In the physical and psychological dimensions, a stronger decrease is found for females than for males. CONCLUSIONS: Children have higher HRQOL than adolescents in many aspects. With increasing age, HRQOL is frequently worse for females than for males. Examination of the individual aspects leads to a differentiation of the results with relevance for public health.

Evaluation of a parental training program for the management of childhood atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) in childhood is a common disease with prevalence rates as high as 20%. Its early onset in infancy and its chronic relapsing course puts a special burden on families. Supporting parents in dealing with the management of AD presents a challenge for physicians. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a structured parental training program on managing AD in children. Two-hundred and four families participated in a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Children (5 months to 12 years in age) had suffered from moderate-to-severe AD for at least 4 months. They were randomly assigned to either the intervention group or a waiting, control group who could participate in the training program 1 year later. The intervention was an inter-disciplinary, structured educational program which covered medical, nutritional, and psychological issues in six group sessions of 2 h each. The families were assessed at the beginning of the study and 1 year later. Main outcome measures were: severity of eczema (SCORAD); treatment habits; treatment costs; quality of life; and coping strategies. Significant effects were shown regarding treatment behavior, such as regular use of emollients, use of antiseptics and topical steroids in the event of exacerbation, and a reduction in the use of unconventional therapies. Satisfaction with medical treatment was improved, and rumination as an ineffective coping strategy was reduced. Finally, significant reduction of treatment costs was achieved. We conclude that structured training programs for parents of children with AD is a helpful adjunct to dermatological treatment.