The BGZ (BG Central Office for Health and Safety at Work) works with together with health insurance providers to help prevent work-related health risks. Along with the other central associations of the statutory accident insurance institutions and the health insurance providers, the "Arbeitskreis Prävention in der Arbeitswelt" ("Working Group on Prevention in the Work of Work"; www.praevention-arbeitswelt.de) supervises the cooperation between accident and health insurers in the field of prevention of work-related health risks. Tools for optimising that collaboration have been developed on joint projects, e.g. KOPAG and IPAG.
"Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit" (Health and Work Initiative)
In 2002, the HVBG (German Federation of Institutions for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention) and the BKK BV (Federal Association of Company Health Insurance Funds) set up the "Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit" (IGA). In May 2005, the federal association of the AOK health insurance provider came on board too. The initiative is intended to support the development of competitive but socially oriented corporate cultures. The focus is on supporting workers in the performance of their tasks and, to an equal extent, optimising working conditions by creating healthy and safe workplaces.
To achieve their goals, the three partners seek dialogue with the business and political spheres, the social partners, the self-administration boards of the company health insurance funds and "Ortskrankenkasse" health insurance providers, the "BGs" (institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention) and numerous other institutions, e.g. social security institutions and governmental bodies, through the IGA. Furthermore, thanks to intensive cooperation with enterprises and research institutions, the IGA's projects are implemented in a way which combines research and practice aspects.
Advisory commission and cooperation group
As part of its consulting activities aimed at advising health insurance providers’ central associations on how to implement Section 20 of Part V of the German Social Code, the BGZ is represented both on the advisory commission specially set up for that purpose and in the cooperation group on workplace health promotion created by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The cooperation group is also a working group in the "Deutsches Forum Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung" (German Forum on Disease Prevention and Health Promotion) established by the Federal Ministry of Health. In addition to the HVBG, all of the key prevention-related institutions have joined the forum to work as part of a national cooperation platform.
"Deutsches Netzwerk für betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung" (German Network for Workplace Health Promotion)
The forums work independently of each other and decide for themselves the focus of their activities. They exchange information with each other at the network conferences, where they present their results. By being integrated into the European network and its regular conferences, both the networks and the individual forums can engage in knowledge transfer on an international level. Independent forum working meetings are held between the network conferences. All of the forums are supervised by coordinator teams, supported by the "Initiative Gesundheit und Arbeit" (Health and Work Initiative) office and managed by the initiative. The cooperation group on workplace health promotion, based at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, is responsible for providing expertise to support the forums’ work.
"Deutsches Forum Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung" (German Forum on Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
The HVBG is just one of the many healthcare-related institutions which are founding members of the "Deutsches Forum Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung" (DFPG).
The forum is intended to provide a common platform from which to agree, implement and communicate prevention goals, priority topics, measures and tools.
The BGZ is represented in working groups 2, "Workplace health promotion", and 4, "Legal issues and organisation", in the forum. The members of Working Group 2 have agreed on the following tasks:
designating priority areas of activity in the field of workplace health promotion,
providing expertise to support the work of the "Deutsche Netzwerk für betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung" (German Network for Workplace Health Promotion),
preparing recommendations on how to organise health promotion within enterprises,
introducing new priority issues and
evaluating lessons learned.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is responsible for managing these tasks. Working Group 4 concentrates on the forum's organisational and structural issues and discusses planned legislation in the field of prevention and health promotion. It is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Health.
