Research-based evidence and practice-based experience are core requirements for the effective implementation of preventive interventions. The knowledge gained in the Prevention Research Funding Initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (2004-2013) was therefore amalgamated, reflected and consolidated in the Cooperation for Sustainable Prevention Research (KNP) meta-project. In annual strategy meetings, researchers and practitioners from the field and other experts developed 3 memoranda providing recommendations for the further development of research and practice in the field of prevention and health promotion. Memorandum III is primarily aimed at decision-makers in politics and administration at the federal, state and local level, in civil society and in the workplace. Its recommendations show that structuring efforts are urgently needed to achieve sustainable policy, particularly in the fields of health, education, employment and social affairs. Memorandum III brings together the knowledge extracted and problems identified in research projects. More so than its 2 predecessors, Memorandum III abstracts knowledge from the individual projects and attempts to derive guidance for action and decision-making, as shown by the 7 recommendations that appear to useful for consensus-building in practice and research. Value judgments are inevitable. Prevention and health promotion are an investment in the future: of social health, social capital and social peace. Improvement of the framework conditions is needed to achieve the harmonized awareness and the sustained effectiveness of these structure-building efforts in different policy areas, spheres of life, fields of action, and groups of actors. This includes the implementation of an overall national strategy as well as the expansion of sources of funding, extension of the legal framework, overarching coordination, and the establishment of a National Center of Excellence to develop and safeguard prevention and health promotion. The memorandum is intended to stimulate a discourse resulting in structure-building and stabilizing measures designed to ensure the sustainability of prevention and health promotion.
Aim This investigation aimed to determine whether socially disadvantaged elementary school children profit health-wise from their participation in the mentoring program "Balu und Du" in which their basic competencies are strengthened and their health-related quality of life is improved. Subjects and methods For the evaluation study we compared an intervention group of 141 children, or so-called "Mowglis" (treatment group), with a stratified control group of 158 children. The children in both the treatment and control groups were 6 to 10 years old and visited 38 different elementary schools at 12 participating locations in Lower Saxony, Germany. Children were recommended for "Balu und Du" by their teachers who were worried about their pupils' disadvantaged family backgrounds and their personal and developmental problems. The control group children were also selected by the Mowglis' teachers and were supposed to match the participants closely in the mentioned attributes. With their parents' consents they participated in the evaluation study. Results The children in the treatment group (Mowglis) can profit from their participation in the project "Balu und Du" in the areas of health-related quality of life. Scholastic achievement and motivation increased in comparison to the control group and the willingness of the children to acquire knowledge and skills that are necessary for current and future problem-solving capacity grew. Conclusion The project "Balu und Du" was able to reach elementary school children from socially disadvantaged families and, by strengthening important basic competencies and their health-related quality of life, can prevent hazardous health characteristics.
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