Health promotion event brought stakeholders together
13.12.2024
Last Monday, December 9, a specialist and networking event on health promotion took place on the premises of the Offenbach Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The event was hosted by the Offenbach City Health Department, Stabsstelle Prävention, which responded to the wish of numerous stakeholders for more exchange and cooperation in this area.
80 participants from various organizations and areas - including independent providers, city administration offices, doctors, associations and other institutions - accepted the invitation. The aim of the event was to strengthen networking and cooperation in the field of health promotion in the city of Offenbach. This is particularly important as it is a cross-cutting issue.
"Many people with limited opportunities for participation live in Offenbach. Our aim is therefore to improve equal health opportunities so that all people - regardless of their social status, origin or living environment - have the opportunity to lead a healthy life. This is particularly important with regard to vulnerable target groups," said Mayor and Head of Health Sabine Groß in her welcoming address.
The event was organized as part of a project of the GKV Alliance for Health, which has been supporting Offenbach since August 2021 in order to establish and expand health-promoting structures.
Mayor and Head of the Health Department Sabine Groß and Dr. Bernhard Bornhofen, Head of the Health Department, welcomed the attendees. Sabrina Kruse and Felix Koller from the Coordination Office for Equal Health Opportunities of the Hessian Working Group for Health Promotion then gave a presentation on equal health opportunities and structures in Hesse. Building on this, Christine Langenbach, Coordination Office for Prevention and Health Promotion of the Offenbach City Health Department, presented the establishment and expansion of health-promoting structures as part of the GKV project in Offenbach and presented successful examples of cooperation.
The theoretical input was followed by the specialist forum phases: In two rounds, the participants were able to choose from a total of eight specialist forums, which were tailored to the specific interests of those present. When registering, participants had the opportunity to name the topics and target groups on which they would like to exchange ideas and network. Due to the great interest in the topic of "mental health", one of the two open specialist forums was quickly converted into an additional specialist forum on this topic.
The specialist forums at a glance:
- Health promotion for children and young people
- Health promotion for the unemployed
- Health promotion for people with a history of migration
- Health promotion for older people
- Mental health (children and young people)
- Mental health (adults)
- Reproductive and sexual health
- Open specialist forum
The specialist forums were supported by employees from the health department, the social welfare department, the women's office, MainArbeit and HAGE e.V. The high number of participants, the committed participation and the lively exchange in the specialist forums show the great need and interest in stronger networking in the area of municipal health promotion.
Many of the actors were not yet familiar with each other, but saw great potential for future cooperation. It became apparent that some existing prevention measures and health promotion structures were not yet visible or known. The event offered participants the opportunity to get to know existing networks and prevention measures, make new contacts and develop initial ideas for joint projects and their funding. This was complemented by an "I'm looking - I'm offering" pinboard. The lively distribution of business cards and the many conversations underline the importance of such events for strengthening the network in Offenbach.