[Future needs in health protection and preventive health]

Health protection is a social political program and dosely connected with the social development. It is pointed out that progress in health protection demands progress in social development. One of the main problems of preparing health protection strategies is to assess the numberless risks for health. Because of the fact that risk assessment is full of social implications people have to be involved in assessing risks. Stressing this fact it is concluded that concepts of health protection mainly reflect ideas about people and social life more than ideas about health and illness. Promoting health protection in the GDR four key problems of major concern are summarized: 1) improving information and education, 2) netting the responsibility of the whole society, 3) further progress in socialist democracy and communal life, 4) increasing the role of health protection in the whole social-political activities.