[Memorandum - research funding of prevention]

Abstract

The memorandum of the research funding of prevention has been devised within the framework of the Prevention Research Funding Programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It consists not only of the obtained findings of the research-practice co-operation but also of recommendations for the implementation of prospective, innovational, effective, practice-oriented and sustainable research. The respective knowledge has been acquired from quantitative surveys on the experiences of scientists and practice partners within the prevention research funding project as well as from extensive qualitative methods of structured group evaluation. A participatory co-operation between research and practice based on mutual respect, trust and recognition is seen as mandatory for the further development of both prevention and health promotion research. Research and practice partners are required to engage in an ab initio collaboration starting from the conception phase, whereby it is advisable to encourage and fortify the communication between research, practice and funding partners by systematic surveillance in form of a meta-project. In addition, the inclusion of the target population from the outset and on a collaborative basis is considered as beneficial in order to ensure the practical application of the research findings. Furthermore, innovatory research designs which are able to provide a framework for internal flexibility, continuous re-assessment and adjustment are fundamental for the implementation of practice-oriented research. Moreover, a dynamic co-operation between different groups of interest not only depends on sharing responsibility but also on sufficient funding for both research and practice, which is particularly important for the transfer and communication of the attained findings. With regard to the evaluation of both effectiveness and sustainability of interventions, a research funding project is required which makes long-term results possible through the utilization of regulated monitoring and guarantees quality and continuous effectiveness. Furthermore, in order to stimulate progress within the basic theories of prevention and health promotion, it is also essential for a funding project to focus on elementary concepts. Additionally, for the efficient and sustainable development of health within a population it is advisable to apply both self-contained research and the involvement of primary prevention and health promotion to research projects concerning health, social affairs, education, work and environment.