Lessons from the development of a web portal on prevention and health promotion

Abstract

Abstract A modern urban lifestyle can be a risk factor for developing non-communicable diseases and mental health problems (Eckert S, Kohler S. Urbanization and health in developing countries: A systematic review. World Health Popul. 2014;15:7–20; Penkalla AM, Kohler S. Urbanicity and mental health in Europe: a systematic review. Eur J Ment Health 2014;9:163–77). Two non-commercial, state-funded web portals in the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg are attempting to support the residents in realizing a healthier lifestyle. The initial portal is named Präventionsatlas [Atlas of Prevention] and has existed since 2008. The second portal, called Stadtplan Gesundheitsförderung [Health Promotion Map], went online in 2014 and has become the successor to the former. Both web portals provide health information as well as searchable databases with locally available health promotion courses and projects. Since internet portals and knowledge management through Internet portals have become more and more frequently used as public health tools (see, e.g. Quinn E, Huckel-Schneider C, Campbell D, Seale H, Milat AJ. How can knowledge exchange portals assist in knowledge management for evidence-informed decision making in public health? BMC Public Health 2014;14:443), we share our lessons learned during the development and revision of the health portal www.praeventionsatlas.de in this article.