The health and social care of people with disabilities in Germany

Pages99-104
Published date02 July 2018
Date02 July 2018
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-03-2018-0015
AuthorSamuel Elstner,Michael-Mark Theil
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities
The health and social care of people with
disabilities in Germany
Samuel Elstner and Michael-Mark Theil
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present information on the health care system in Germany with the
focus on mental health care in people with intellectual disabilities (ID).
Design/methodology/approach The paper is descriptive providing an overview of the general structure
of the German health care system with historical and economic background. The paper also provides further
information on the general social and health care in Germany for people with ID and medical education in the
field of ID is used.
Findings There is a highly developed health care infrastructure in Germany but health care for people with
ID is not co-ordinated or universal. Mental health care for people with ID is predominantly in in-patient
services. Only in recent years, out-patient services for people with ID have been developed. There is a little
emphasis in medical education on the health care needs of people with ID.
Originality/value The value of this paper is its description of health care in Germany and services for
people with ID.
Keywords Intellectual disability, Germany, Health care, Health insurance, Health system, Social system
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Germany is a federal republic with 16 different states bound together under one constitution as a
liberal democratic and social state of law. The Federal Republic of Germany has over 82.5m
inhabitants (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018a) and is one of the most densely populated states in
Europe (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018b) (Table I). The age distribution of the German
population is 2165 years (61 per cent), under 21 years (18 per cent) and over 65 years
(21 per cent). The population is expected to change by 2060 whereby 33 per cent will be over
65 years, 65 per cent will be 2165 years and under 21 years will make up 16 per cent of the
population (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2016). In Germany, there is no comprehensive registration
of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Only those with disabilities in general who apply for
social funding support are registered and therefore there is no information on the exact the
number of people with ID and their needs for support.
Germany is the largest economy in Europe (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018b) and the fourth largest
in the world (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2018c) with a gross domestic product in 2016 of 3,133.9,
29 per cent of the Euro-zone (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2017). Germany was a founding member of
the European Union (Europäische Union, 2018). On 26 March 2009, the Federal Government
ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Praetor Intermedia UG, 2013)
and since Germany has beencommitted to the comprehensive inclusion of people with disabilities.
The German health care system
The German health care system is regulated by the social code that consists of 12 different
books (Becker and Kingreen, 2017). The social code books regulate the right for support in
health care, social care and unemployment support. They determine the official benefactors who
Received 11 April 2018
Revised 6 August 2018
Accepted 6 August 2018
Samuel Elstner is Head at
Praxis-Elstner, Berlin,
Germany.
Michael-Mark Theil is Head of
Department at Integrierter
Gesundheitsdienst
Neuerkerode, Evangelische
Stiftung Neuerkerode,
Sickte, Germany.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-03-2018-0015 VOL. 12 NO. 3/4 2018, pp. 99-104, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
j
ADVANCESIN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
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PAGE99

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