What we do

Right to equal opportunity and health for all

The utilization of offered health services is significantly less for families with a socio-economically worse status and / or with a migrant background. As of today, there have only been a few successful solutions to improve access in Austria. New, efficient strategies must be created and tested in order to:

  • close these gaps,
  • promote equal opportunity,
  • encourage families with a lower socio-economic status or migrant background to utilize health services,
  • identify the main factors as to why the access is less,
  • make offers more attractive for these target groups and
  • tap new communication channels.

In addition to health care and health preservation, practical health promotion is also in the focus of our work. Through our measures, we want to improve the health of all people living in Austria – independent of education, income and social origin. Our main focus here is on nutrition for pregnant women, nursing mothers and infants. Health should be maintained so that we do not have to first react to the illness (primary prevention). We want to avoid risks, encourage people to eat healthy and allow access to different health services. It is particularly important to us not only to offer scientific health information, but rather to also make this understandable and to prepare it for non-specialists.

In order to allow for the solutions above, not only a clear definition of our goals and our target group is required, but rather effective and efficient measures as well. To do this, we will use proven and high quality measures and also have the courage to innovate, to try out new strategies and simultaneously act in a sustainable manner with a successful implementation. Here we place the greatest value on equal health opportunities and equality.

Principles of health promotion

Based on the principles of health promotion (Ottawa Charta 1986) , ARGEF would like to promote ethnic minorities and families that are economically worse off. The focus here should be on nutrition for pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and families. New solutions should be developed and research work executed for this purpose. The goal is to close gaps, but also to better understand the complex interaction of different health determinants. Even more information is needed in order to identify the risk factors of sensitive groups and to better understand their motivation, fears and needs.

The promotion of equal health opportunities is always in focus and the following aspects, among others, are considered:

  • Education, income, occupational position, social origin
  • Migrant background, residential region
  • Age, gender, marital status

Health goals are the relevant control instruments in health promotion

The ARGEF works according to national and international health goals

  • Austrian health goals
  • Health 2020
  • EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity 2014-2020
  • Europe 2020
  • Health 21

Our goal is to improve the health of all people living in Austria independent of education, income, social origin. Health should be maintained so that we do not have to first react to the illness (primary prevention).

Our main goals include

  • generating evidence-based knowledge about the needs of sensitive groups and to guarantee children the best possible start in life.
  • increasing understanding as to why specific nutrition patterns exist in the families (promotional and preventive) and identification of their fears, motivation, needs, etc.
  • through the integration of local communities and the target group itself, the cooperation and mutual understanding should be improved.
  • Establishment of a better understanding of the needs of children and their families so that interventions can be planned in a more direct and appropriate manner.
  • Prevention of nutrition-related diseases like diabetes as well as the reduction of unequal opportunity and therefore the promotion of social justice.
  • Minimization of follow-up costs through efficient intervention planning and generation of knowledge that can be used as a basis for effective intervention planning.

OUR PROJECTS

Back pain

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Everyone knows back pain, a pain that can really ruin your day. Many sufferers turn to tablets in order to keep going, but this kind of self-medication helps only a few. The causes can be more effectively combatted with the right back training, for example Qigong. Back pain is probably the most frequent complaint around,...
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Burnout

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Stress and burnout are conditions that affect not only managers. Exhaustion, lethargy and fatigue are also an answer to excessive mental strain – and not a question of age or occupation. Do you often feel burned out and weak? You find social contacts strenuous and it is hard to manage everyday life? Then it is...
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Yoga

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What do you associate with the term “yoga”? Hours of sitting cross-legged, and breathtaking distortions of the body by crazy post-hippies? Well, you are wrong – for yoga, in accordance with its Indian principles, is the gentle cleansing of body and spirit, a programme of movement that strengthens the muscles and soul – and which...
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Vitamin D

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Sun protects the bones Vitamin D is the only vitamin that the human body can produce itself – thanks to sunlight. Yet almost three-quarters of all Austrians are insufficiently equipped with this essential component. The vitamin balance can be restored easily with outdoor exercise and a balanced diet. The good news: Vitamin D (calciferol) is...
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Bacteria and antibiotics

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The human microbiome is a highly sensitive ecosystem that carries out important tasks for digestion and immune defence. The prerequisite is that it is balanced. Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the intestinal flora, can lead to various different illnesses such as antibiotic-related enteritis. There is a lot going on in the human intestines. Around two to...
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Lavender

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The view alone of the blossoming fields of Provence gives a sense of calm. Yet lavender, a true beauty among the scented plants, has even more mysterious power than our eye can perceive. Whether tea, oil, compress or as a beneficial pillow – the noble blue blossom has countless healthy facets. For good reason, therefore,...
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Metabolic syndrome

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Dangerous derailment Too many cigarettes, too much food, not enough movement. What the body normally graciously forgives in its young years starts to become a problem starting at a certain age. Nearly half of all adults who suffer under a “derailment of the metabolism” are over 60 years of age. Medical specialists have a term...
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World no tobacco day

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The path to the last cigarette The Lower Austria residents are passionate smokers:  21.8 percent smoke; 2.3 million people in Austria smoke cigarettes on a regular basis. The 31st of May, the “world no tobacco day” was a good day to start “No Tobacco Life”.  “I can stop any time”, “my grandpa smoked 30 cigarettes...
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Alzheimer’s

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How grey cells stay fit Each of us would like to stay healthy as we grow old and enjoy life. However, more and more older people live in the past, because they suffer from Alzheimer’s. Currently around 40 million people throughout the world suffer from Alzheimer’s. This diseases is the most common form of all...
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Stay on ball – soft movement for rheumatics

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People who suffer from rheumatism and already feel pain just looking at a staircase frequently and gladly leave sports out. Through targeted movement, not only quality of life can be increased, but rather pain can be fought as well. Pain during every movement, a high loss in quality of life: Not only older people are...
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© ARGEF 2020