[Promoting self-help by a public health office--the example of the Unna district]

In the district of Unna support of self-help movement has been enjoying high priority for many years, giving a new orientation to the public health service towards a modern and more customer-friendly public service. Since January 1990 a self-help clearinghouse has been established by the section of health promotion supervised by the public health office. By now, three centres have been opened. The scheme of organisation, staffing and facilities, contents and working procedure, results and experiences are presented. It is quite obvious that support of the self-help movement should be one of the major tasks of public health service in the years to come.