[Synchronising school entry health examinations in Lower-Saxony, Germany]. / Synchronisierung von Schuleingangsuntersuchungen in Niedersachsen.

BACKGROUND: In the German federal state of Lower-Saxony the districts are responsible for conducting school entry health examinations. There exist two different standard protocols for diagnosis and documentation, denoted as Weser-Ems (WE) and SOPHIA. In order to analyse and improve the comparability between these two protocols, a working group was established in 2006. One of the objectives was to adjust the protocols in such a way that in the future the collected data will allow for joint health reporting. METHODS: Each variable was discussed individually by the working group, and if diagnosis or documentation differed between the two protocols, specific modifications were proposed. For certain variables external expert opinions were obtained. For those variables that had to be revised quite generally, specific sub-working groups were established. As prerequisite for implementation, the recommendations of the working group had to be accepted by the user groups through majority votes. RESULTS: Of 88 (WE) or, respectively, 66 (SOPHIA) variables, 39 (WE) or, respectively, 34 variables initially fulfilled the requirements for a joint analysis. As a result of the working group, for more than 20 other variables the requirements for a joint analysis could be achieved. As soon as the sub-working groups have completed their work, also the issues of physical coordination, cognitive abilities and psychological health will be available for joint analysis. DISCUSSION: The synchronisation of school entry health examinations in Lower-Saxony is an example of how different protocols of diagnosis and documentation can be adapted to each other to enable joint data analysis without loosing their individual characteristics.

[Public health service as cooperative partner in prevention]. / Der öffentliche Gesundheitsdienst als Kooperationspartner in der Prävention.

As resources become scarce there is increasing demand on the public health services to create a system of community-based and jointly used health protection services. Cohort surveys that are currently more and more reduced contribute to both primary and secondary prevention. They enable third parties to implement further prevention projects. In addition, due to continuous quality assessment and standardization process, they yield valid data for developing target-group-specific prevention strategies as well as for evaluating preventive measures. In this respect public health services already fulfil the demand for prevention in the social environment as outlined in the forthcoming Prevention Act. Preventive measures in the field of dental health, atopic diseases and vaccination are presented as examples. The integration of data from continuous cohort surveys into a health reporting system as a basis for developing and evaluating health targets and prevention projects at the state level is demonstrated.