[Facilities offered by community-oriented professional rehabilitation centres for mentally challenged persons in the Federal Republic of Germany].
OBJECTIVE
Vocational rehabilitation is an important component of community-oriented mental health care. How is the situation of supply with vocational rehabilitation facilities in Germany offering their services to mentally challenged persons?


METHODS
Search of a Germany-wide rehabilitation database, supplemented by information from the Federal Working Groups on Vocational Rehabilitation. Cartographical classification of the identified facilities. Analysis of the results in a comparison of the situation in the 16 German States (Länder).


RESULTS
The Länder of North Rhine Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Lower Saxony offer the greatest number of vocational rehabilitation facilities to mentally challenged persons. In all East German and in some of the West German Länder vocational rehabilitation facilities are restricted to some areas and to certain vocational preconditions. Many of the facilities in these areas are structured as centres and situated in rural areas. Hence, they lack community-orientation. Only North-Rhine Westphalia offers country-wide community-oriented vocational rehabilitation facilities to mentally challenged persons, which are not restricted to certain vocational preconditions.


CONCLUSIONS
The supply with vocational rehabilitation facilities for mentally challenged persons has improved during recent years. Nevertheless, the situation in many of the German Länder needs to be improved, particularly in respect of the availability of rehabilitation facilities for younger mentally challenged persons without prior working experience. The implementation of decentralised community-oriented facilities should be favoured in centres, especially in larger sparsely populated areas.
Albrecht
D
D
Abteilung für Epidemiologie, Sozialmedizin und Gesundheitssystemforschung, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover. albrechtdaniela@yahoo.de
Bramesfeld
A
A
D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005860:Germany, West / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
Das Angebot an gemeindenahen beruflichen Rehabilitationsmöglichkeiten für psychisch kranke Menschen in der Bundesrepublik.