Occupational Health Promotion in Inpatient Care for the Elderly in the POLKA Project Quality Criteria and Initial Findings

During formulation, the Prevention Act took account of the company as a prominent setting for health promotion for adults. Unfortunately, these legislative drafts are not being implemented sufficiently. This is in spite of the high demand in health care. Moreover, demographic changes are exacerbating the already tense situation in inpatient care. In occupational health management, only one-off measures with a low impact are offered in the institutions of inpatient care for the elderly. In addition, previous standards in occupational health promotion are ineffective with regard to work organisation structures (e.g., shift-work, many part-time workers). Taking into account the developed quality standards in occupational health management, the POLKA project initiates solutions and scientifically accompanies them. The aim here is to provide optimal support to the employees in inpatient care. Pilot and expert systems have been developed for the solutions, which offer optimal support in the implementation of needs-based interventions. The project initiators pursue the long-term goal of running the system sustainably and developing further stable financing opportunities.