The underlying issue of the Journal of Public Health consists of free contributions which were submitted for publication and which do not belong to a special theme determined in advance. However, most of the articles presented deal with methods for improving Public Health targets. Radulovic et al. from Nis, Serbia, assessed methods for family planning by women in their municipality. In an observational cohort study, 1,584 women were interviewed. About 82% of them protected themselves from unwanted pregnancy because of already having the preferred number of children (40.4%), for health reasons (22.4%), for being not married (17%) and because of a poor economical situation. Kliche et al. from Hamburg, Germany, investigated usability criteria concerning the topics of prevention, health promotion and education in 138 basic and applied research publications. Their review provided a “two-dimensional taxonomy” of the concept of usability. They conclude that taxonomy is an approach to the empirical exploration of users’ expectations of stakeholders’ perspectives. Seelos from Reichenau, Germany, proposes a scientific paradigm for medical management by considering specialisation, differentiation and interdisciplinary integration as necessary procedures, thus, acting as a new perspective for health sciences. Kirschning et al. from Berlin, Germany, dealt with the questions on why family members of cancer patients investigated illness-relevant subjects on the Internet, why they used the information from the Internet for themselves and/or if they passed it to the patients. Ninety-one percent (91%) of the family members informed themselves by researching on the Internet. It is concluded that the information obtained led to a better knowledge of the corresponding disease and helped make a decision concerning its treatment. Kallert et al. from Dresden, Germany, compared the effectiveness of different types of supported housing in patients with chronic schizophrenia. In a longitudinal study, 244 patients were followed up. They outline the disadvantage of homes and hostels considering the subjective quality of life and the advantage of maintaining integration into family life avoiding social disabilities. Corresponding health policy decisions are suggested. Walter et al. from Dresden, Germany, and Edmonton, Canada examined the effect of different socio-economic, behavioural and clinical factors by a cross-sectional study in a German and a Canadian sample. This was done by a 49-item version of an oral health impact profile questionnaire. Gender, removable denture wearing, treatment need in endodontics, surgery and oral prosthetics were found to be variables for oral-health-related quality of life, irrespective of the site of examination (Germany or Canada). Sia Su from Manila, Philippines, assessed the water quality in communities with and without the Payatas dumpsite and if the pollution in the dumpsite has health impacts. In a cross-sectional study, several parameters of water quality were analysed in the dry and wet seasons of this country. For sulphate and total cadmium, a significant impact on the prevalence of diarrhoea was confirmed. Finally, Schmitt et al. from Dresden, Germany, have been examining food advertisement and promotion, especially those aimed at children, and food labelling, which are important factors behind the obesity epidemic. They J Public Health (2007) 15:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s10389-006-0079-8