Key Topics and Fields of Work

The Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) is an authority in the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Health. It was assigned the following tasks at the time of its establishment in 1967:

• Elaboration of principles and guidelines relating to the content and methods of practical health education,
• Vocational training and continuing education of persons working in the field of health education,
• Coordination and intensification of health education in Germany,
• International collaboration.

The information offered by BZgA concerning health risks, options for living a healthy life and the preventive offerings of the health system are intended to help the public assume responsibility for their health and make appropriate use of the health system.

Mass-media offerings of BZgA draw attention to topics and problems of relevance to health and convey basic information in connection with them, while personal communication measures primarily aim to achieve more detailed examination of these topics.

One of the important starting points of BZgA’s prevention work is the mediation and strengthening of communication and social skills, these being the prerequisite for the ability to structure daily life, overcome problem situations and develop a health-promoting lifestyle.