The Coordinating Office for Health Equity (German: Koordinierungsstelle Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit (KGC)) is an information and networking center for disease prevention and health promotion. Its goal is to improve the health of people in difficult living situations and thereby strengthen the health equity in different living environments. One focus is health promotion of people who have been difficult to reach. This requires specific approaches, which the Coordinating Office for Health Equity provides information about. The Coordinating Office for Health Equity also advises and aids in the application of these approaches.
Due to the implementation of the German Prevention Act in 2015, the Coordinating Offices for Health Equity were expanded in all federal states of Germany. In 2017, the Bavarian Coordinating Office for Health Equity established its offices in the Bavarian Association for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The office comprises now two divisions. Division I is funded by the statutory health insurance funds. Division II was established in 2006 and has its offices within the Center for Prevention and Health Promotion of the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority.
The Coordinating Office for Health Equity is responsible for the following tasks:
- Consultation and qualification of actors in the public health sector
- Initial consultation and support for project development, arranging existing programs, and providing consultation for funding possibilities
- Support the implementation of the Statewide Framework Agreement for Disease Prevention in Bavaria
- Spread awareness of the topic “Health Equity” to relevant actors in Bavaria, e. g. through symposiums and talks
- Linking science with practice, e. g. through the organization of expert discussions
- Coordination of and cooperation with regional and federal networks
- Anchoring quality development and quality control in living communities of socially disadvantaged, vulnerable target groups, e. g. by identifying and providing good practice models