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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
Question:
Regarding the Student Health Service implemented by the Department of Health (DH), will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of health education talks organised for secondary and primary schools by the Student Health Service Centres (SHSCs) under DH in each of the past three years, and the numbers of participating schools and students each year;
(b) of the numbers and percentages of secondary and primary school students who received services provided by SHSCs in each of the past three years;
(c) why the Junior Health Pioneer Workshops organised by DH only targets Primary Three students who have joined the Student Health Service, instead of all primary school students;
(d) of the numbers of talks and activities organised under the Adolescent Health Programme implemented by DH in each of the past three years, and the numbers and percentages of participating schools and students each year; and
(e) whether talks on health promotion had been organised at the district level for secondary and primary schools as well as pre-primary institutions in the past three years; if so, of the number of talks organised each year and the number of participants; if not, whether it will consider organising such talks; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) The Department of Health (DH) organises health talks in its 12 Student Health Service Centres (SHSCs). Students may attend the talks through arrangements made by their schools, or by themselves or in the company of their parents. Hence, the DH usually counts the attendance at the health talks in terms of the number of participants instead of the number of schools. The number of health talks organised by the DH in its SHSCs and the number of participants in the past three academic years are shown in Table 1.
(b) The number of secondary and primary students participating in the Student Health Service (SHS) and their percentage in the total secondary and primary student population in the past three academic years are shown in Table 2.
(c) The DH's "Junior Health Pioneer Workshops" (the Workshops) were first introduced in the 2007-08 academic year as subject talks for Primary Three students to help them understand the harmful effects of smoking, abuse of psychotropic substance and excessive drinking, and stand firm against any ill temptations. The number of participating Primary Three students accounted for about 85% of the total number of Primary Three students in Hong Kong in the 2007-08 academic year.
The service targets of the Workshops are Primary Three students aged eight to nine who are slightly older than Primary One and Two students. They generally have some knowledge of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, and may even have exposure to such ill temptations. Making them aware of the harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol and drugs as early as possible would help equip them with refusal skills.
(d) The number of talks and activities organised for secondary students under the Adolescent Health Programme (AHP) of the DH; the number of participating schools; the number of participating students and their percentage in the total number of secondary schools and secondary student population in the past three academic years are shown in Table 3.
Besides, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Education Bureau and Social Welfare Department have jointly organised the "Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes" (the Scheme) since the 2005-06 academic year. Also targeting young people, the Scheme aims to develop their competence in various aspects, promote their bonding with others, and develop healthy beliefs and clear values in them.
(e) From 2006 to 2008, the DH organised 3,259 talks on health promotion at the district level for secondary and primary schools as well as pre-primary institutions, with a total number of 24,840 participants.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:56
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