Sozial- und Präventivmedizin / Social and Preventive Medicine / Médecine sociale et préventive (SPM) is the official publication of the Swiss Society for Public Health. Since 1991 it is published in close cooperation with the German Society of Medical Sociology, and, since 1999, is supported by the Swiss Foundation for Health Promotion. The journal has long been a leading reference for public health and preventive medicine in German and French speaking countries. Now, at volume 46, SPM is developing a broader European perspective, with a special focus on findings and methods from health survey research, risk factor surveillance and health promotion. SPM publishes original quantitative and qualitative scientific work from empirical social sciences, epidemiology, survey research, health promotion, evaluation and intervention as well as communications and letters to the editors. Its content is therefore relevant to researchers and practitioners working in epidemiology, health promotion, medical sociology, environmental medicine, health education, health systems and medical economics, and other related fields.