[Self-help support for chronic illness-societal challenges and current approaches].

Community self-help in self-help groups is socially recognized as a form and culture of informal help. Knowledge is gathered and common strategies for coping with everyday life in chronic illness or disability are developed. Self-help clearinghouses at 300 locations in Germany significantly support the foundation and work of self-help groups.

[Evaluation of Germany's sixth national health target entitled "Depressive illnesses - prevention, early diagnosis, sustainable treatment"].

In 2006, Germany's sixth national health target entitled "Depressive illnesses - prevention, early diagnosis, sustainable treatment" was developed by an interdisciplinary group of experts. A total of six areas of activity and proposals for action with potential for improvement were defined. Subsequently, a group of experts was entrusted with designing evaluation strategies, defining indicators of progress, and examining the accessibility of data sources for evaluation.

[Development, situation and perspective of self-help support in Germany].

Self-help groups and self-help associations are an important part of the social security system. In Germany, self-help contact points, senior citizen centers, volunteer agencies, citizen centers and multi-generation houses combine citizen participation with innovative professional services. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of continuous financial support for these important, locally administered institutions.

[An overview of self-help structures in Germany].

Self-help groups, self-help organizations, and clearing-houses have now become recognized elements of the health care system. Organized self-help, which has a long tradition in Germany, gained significant momentum during the 1980s and 1990s. Several factors still contribute to the development of self-help groups: the increased number of chronic health conditions, the improved treatment programs, increasing life expectancies, changes in primary social networks (family, relations, and neighborhood), and increased public recognition of the value of self-help.

[Health related self-help groups--participation and information level in Germany. Results of the German telephone health survey 2003].

Using the data provided by the German Telephone Health Survey 2003 that gathered health related information from 8,318 adult residents, statements concerning the participation in health related self-help groups and the level of information about self-help groups were analysed. According to the survey 8.9 % of sample have already participated in a health related self-help group, 13 % stated to be informed about this topic but have not taken part in such a group.