Health promotion networks for children and youth on the local level : An overview of the status quo in Germany

Abstract

In recent years, more and more municipalities in Germany have started to establish cross-sectoral health promotion networks for children and teenagers. They are supported by several initiatives at the state and federal level. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of these initiatives and to describe the central barriers for the implementation of health promotion networks on the local level. For this purpose, the authors first outline the role of municipalities in health promotion in Germany in general, and then describe the initiatives in more detail. The authors identify four central obstacles for implementing health promotion networks on the local level: the tight financial situation of many municipalities, difficulties of the local public service in realizing intersectoral cooperation, the traditionally weak role of the local health service, and missing evidence for Germany regarding the effectiveness of networks and integrated strategies. In addition, the article presents two alternative solutions: Great Britain and Västerbotten, acounty in Sweden.