[Consolidated efforts to strengthen health promotion in living environments: The cooperation network "Equity in Health"].

BACKGROUND: In 2003, the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) initiated a national Cooperation Network named "Equity in Health" to address scientific results, focusing on the association between social inequalities and health. The main goal is to support setting approaches aimed at reducing these health inequalities. RESULTS AND KEY ACTIVITIES: In the autumn of 2015 the Cooperation Network comprised a total of 65 (institutional) cooperation partners, e.g., from prevention and health promotion, from the medical profession, from the welfare associations, and from the municipal umbrella organziations. The website www.gesundheitliche-chancengleichheit.de was created to present the information available on all activities and structures. Further, Coordination Centers for Health Equity were established in all federal states of Germany to advise, coordinate and provide support for all those who are actively engaged in the key issues for each state. These Coordination Centers are sponsored by the statutory sickness funds and the Health Ministry of the respective states. They also support continuous quality improvement, based on the good practice criteria developed by the Cooperation Network. Since 2011, the local partner process "Health for All" (until November 2015 "Growing Up Healthily for All") has assisted the municipalities in developing their own integrated health strategies oriented toward the different stages in the life course ("prevention chains"). PERSPECTIVES: The results and structures that have emerged from the Cooperation Network form a good basis for the implementation of the new national Prevention Law passed by German Parliament in July 2015, to expand and develop further, on a country-wide basis and in the various states, living-space-oriented prevention and health promotion consolidating activities. The paper also discusses the present and future challenges of the Cooperation Network.