Intervention reporting by the Landesgesundheitskonferenz Berlin (Berlin Health Conference).

In 2013 the Berlin Health Conference (Landesgesundheitskonferenz, LGK) implemented intervention reporting for the first time within a kindergarten setting. Results from the survey of LGK Berlin members on current measures in kindergartens in Berlin that are related to the child health targets enabled us to map socio-spatial interventions and subsequently identify needs. This article highlights the potential and limits of intervention reporting as an element in the wider field of health and prevention reporting.

Birth weight and special educational needs: results of a population-based study in Berlin.

Background: Preterm infants are at higher risk for developmental problems. The aim of this study is to quantify the relation between birth weight and special educational needs.

Methods: We analyzed data from the pre-school examinations of 134 313 children in Berlin aged 5 to 6 who were examined between 2007 and 2011.

Risk and protective factors for children's and adolescents' mental health: results of the BELLA study.

Background: Since prevalence rates of mental health problems in children and adolescents are high and of considerable relevance to public health, determinants of mental health, such as risk and protective factors, are of special interest.

Objectives: The present paper reports the frequencies and distributions of potential risk and protective factors and analyses their effects on children's mental health.

Methods: The BELLA study is the mental health module of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey among Children and Adolescents (KiGGS).

Depressive symptoms of children and adolescents in a German representative sample: results of the BELLA study.

Background: In Europe, a considerable proportion of children and adolescents is affected by depressive symptoms, impairing their everyday life and social functioning.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in Germany, addressing risk factors, comorbidity, and impact of depressive symptoms on everyday life.

Methods: In the BELLA study, the mental health module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), a representative sample of young people aged 7-17 years was enrolled.

How impaired are children and adolescents by mental health problems? Results of the BELLA study.

Background: The consideration of impairment plays a crucial role in detecting significant mental health problems in children whose symptoms do not meet diagnostic criteria. The assessment of impairment may be particularly relevant when only short screening instruments are applied in epidemiological surveys. Furthermore, differences between childrens' and parents' perceptions of present impairment and impairing symptoms are of interest with respect to treatment-seeking behaviour.

Prevalence of mental health problems among children and adolescents in Germany: results of the BELLA study within the National Health Interview and Examination Survey.

Background: Over the past decades the public health relevance of mental health conditions in children and adolescents has been of growing concern. However, so far no detailed epidemiological data has been available for a representative national sample in Germany.

Objectives: The present paper reports prevalence rates of general and specific mental health problems among children and adolescents in Germany and describes the link between symptoms and impairment as well as the treatment situation.