[Sexual health in Germany: indicators as instruments for describing, planning and evaluating : indicators of the German STI society]. / Sexuelle Gesundheit in Deutschland - Indikatoren als Instrumente zum Beschreiben, Planen und Evaluieren : Der Indikatorenkatalog der Deutschen STI-Gesellschaft.

In June 2012 the "Sexual Health" section of the German STI Society (DSTIG) adopted a set of indicators for sexual health in order to depict the sexual health status of people in Germany, as well as to plan and evaluate activities for the improvement of sexual health as a whole. The compiled indicators are measures for determining sexual health in Germany. A logical, convincingly conclusive and yet manageable list of indicators is presented on the basis of the draft submittals of the World Health Organization (WHO). The selected indicators reflect the German situation and are at the same time highly comparable internationally. Potential users of the document are health experts, policy developers, researchers, and other health care professionals.

[Prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Germany. From HIV to STI prevention]. / Prävention sexuell übertragbarer Infektionen (STI) in Deutschland. Von der HIV- zur STI-Prävention.

The strategy of "social learning" has been established as the decisive basis for the development of prevention measures in the field of HIV/AIDS in Germany. In recent years, HIV/AIDS prevention has been expanded to include sexually transmitted infections (STI), and the"Don't Give AIDS a Chance" umbrella campaign of the Federal Centre for Health Education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, BZgA) has gradually developed into an integrated HIV/STI campaign. The population currently has a comparatively low level of knowledge regarding STI. The integrated HIV/STI campaign faces the challenge of firstly sensitizing the entire population to the subject of STI. The declared aims of this expanded campaign are to successively increase the level of knowledge, to motivate and enable the public to protect themselves, and to promote communication skills regarding STI. At the same time, it is essential to increase cooperation with the medical community and medical scientific societies for the purpose of prevention work.

[Monitoring and quality assurance of prevention and health promotion at the federal level]. / Monitoring und Qualitätssicherung von Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung auf Bundesebene.

Monitoring and quality assurance are gaining in importance for the identification of needs and the effectiveness of prevention and health promotion activities. This paper presents examples of activities of monitoring and quality assurance at the federal level, carried out by the Federal Centre for Health Education and the Robert Koch Institute. Examples include the prevention issues "HIV/AIDS", "nutrition and physical activity" and "child health". They illustrate the roles of epidemiological surveillance, health monitoring, evaluation, and intervention reporting. The Robert Koch Institute and the Federal Centre for Health Education provide complementary information on health and intervention reporting at the federal level. With their reports, they provide essential information for health policy to formulate, to implement and to evaluate evidence-based national health goals and action plans.

Prospective, randomized controlled trial on Lactobacillus rhamnosus in infants with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: A reduction of symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD) in small infants by the administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus has been reported in a few studies. One study with older children and adolescents failed to show any effect. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a prospective study to reassess the efficacy of orally administered L. rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) in infants with AD. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 54 infants aged 1-55 months with moderate to severe AD were randomized to daily 10 x 10(9) colony-forming units of LGG or to placebo during an 8-week intervention phase. Emollients, class I-II topical corticosteroids and antihistamines were permitted. RESULTS: The treatment with LGG was well tolerated. At the end of treatment there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to clinical symptoms (SCORAD, pruritus, sleep loss), the use of topical corticosteroids and antihistamines, immunological parameters, or health-related quality of life of the parents. CONCLUSIONS: Our results could not confirm LGG as an effective treatment of AD in infancy.

[Processes of body perception and their therapeutic use in pediatrics. From nonspecific relaxation therapy to training to recognize disease-specific symptoms]. / Prozesse der Körperwahrnehmung und deren therapeutische Nutzung in der Pädiatrie: Die Weiterentwicklung unspezifischer Entspannungsverfahren zum Training krankheitsspezifischer Beschwerde- und Symptomwahrnehmung.

Focussing on processes of body perception is a major pathway of relaxation therapies (progressive relaxation, autogenic training, guided imagery, hypnotherapy, biofeedback). Traditionally its application has been related to psychosomatic and psychotherapeutic indications. Beyond this classical approach, recent behavioral medicine has emphasized the relevance of interoception processes and adequate attribution patterns concerning bodily sensations as a major source of adequate coping and self-management with somatic illness. Clinical application may refer to an improved cognitive-behavioral pain management in disease and treatment related conditions. Especially children and adolescents suffering from chronic conditions that may exacerbate rapidly may benefit from an education approach that teaches them to perceive their disease-related complaints and symptoms accurately and to attribute them correctly. A precise, panic-free and immediate symptom recognition of sudden airway obstruction is an important precondition of adequate coping with acute asthma crisis and starting risk orientated antiasthmatic treatment. In a similar way, the child with diabetes mellitus may identify early signs of hypoglycemia by self-observation, recognition and discrimination of physical, vegetative and psychological indicators of blood glucose decline that enable the child to take appropriate countermeasures. Other childhood disorders that offer chances for symptomatic self-monitoring and self-control comprise atopic dermatitis or epileptic seizures. Training young patients in precise symptom recognition may not only empower them in handling acute crisis but also strengthen global development of autonomy, control beliefs, self-responsibility and self-esteem.

Structured parent education in the management of childhood atopic dermatitis: the Berlin model.

Childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disease with the prevalence rates increasing. Its chronic course with frequent relapses puts a special burden on both children and their parents. To maximise positive long-term outcome in the management of AD it is important to support parents in dealing with the chronic condition of their child in addition to treating symptoms. In the present article, we describe in detail the goals, structure, and content of the Berlin education program for parents of children with AD. The program aims to contribute towards a comprehensive, family-oriented management of childhood AD. Its objective is to improve parent's self-management skills with regard to their child's disease and to positively impact the course of the disease as well as the family's quality of life. Medical, nutritional and psychological issues are covered in six group sessions which are conducted by a multiprofessional team of paediatricians, psychologists and dieticians. Preliminary data show that the program has a desirable effect on aspects of quality of life and coping.