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The Food and Health Bureau is inviting non-profit-making organisations to submit grant applications for Non-Research Health Promotion Projects and the Seed Funding Scheme under the Health Care and Promotion Fund (HCPF).
Non-Research Health Promotion Projects should aim to help people adopt healthier lifestyles by enhancing awareness, changing behaviour or creating an environment that supports good health practices, while the Seed Funding Scheme is to foster the development of innovative, effective and sustainable health promotion programmes in the community. The Seed Funding Scheme also offers non-recurrent funding opportunities to facilitate mobilisation of local resources through building partnerships among public, private and non-governmental organisations to promote health in the community.
"Priority for funding is given to projects targeting underprivileged groups who are at risk of ill health, and health promotion programmes carried out in primary care settings.
"For health promotion interventions to achieve sustainable effects, multidisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaborations to engage the community to create supportive environments and to empower individuals to take ownership of their health are the keys to success," a spokesman for the bureau said today (April 28).
In addition, higher funding priorities will be accorded to the following thematic areas:
I. Tobacco control
While smoking is well known as the causative agent of many fatal diseases and cancers, continuous effort is required to put "what we know" into action to prevent and reduce tobacco exposure by:
* Helping youth, women or high-pressure career workers to abstain from tobacco use and connecting them with proven evidence of its damage to health; and
* Motivating smokers, in particular adult males, to cease smoking and empowering them to re-learn life without cigarettes during the times of day when they face their toughest smoking triggers and peers.
II. Lifestyle, nutrition and physical activity
Adopting a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet and regular physical exercise are important to reduce the risks for many chronic diseases. Community involvement to enhance government initiatives in active living, healthy eating, tackling overweight problems and promoting a healthy workplace will benefit specific groups by:
* Encouraging optimal young child feeding practices such as increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, and reducing intake of sugar-sweetened snacks and beverages;
* Promoting the availability of affordable healthy food and beverages to families and decision-makers of schools;
* Equipping the younger generation to adopt healthy lifestyle practices, for example, avoiding unhealthy habits, high-risk sexual activities, alcohol and drug misuse, and maintaining a balanced diet and healthy body mass index;
* Motivating employers to create a safe and healthy working environment that supports the working population, who are in general at risk of lifestyle-related diseases. Actions include modification of the physical environment, enhancement of organisational policies and provision of personal health skills to the workforce; and
* Increasing physical activity participation and limiting sedentary lifestyle in the general population.
III. Mental well-being
Mental health problems are one of the major health concerns in urban life. Strategic actions are required to maintain and enhance mental well-being by:
* Strengthening community capacity in promoting positive mental health. Youth, families, schools and communities benefit when working in partnership to support the younger generation and to collaborate with families and schools to address their needs such as the emotional and behavioural aspects;
* Enhancing the development of individual skills to acquire positive mental health, manage stress and cope with difficulties in different stages of life;
* Raising awareness and supporting early detection of mental diseases through effective channels such as the Internet;
* Supporting treatment and facilitating people with mental problems to return to the community; and
* Reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues and including people with and recovering from poor mental health and their family carers to build more cohesive communities.
IV. Injury prevention
Injury causes significant mortality and morbidity in the community. Emphasis is placed on injury prevention which covers domestic injury, falls, traffic accidents and unintentional injuries in children by:
* Encouraging community key stakeholders to take the lead in co-ordinating actions to prevent or reduce injuries;
* Identifying environmental and behavioural aspects of target populations at risk of various injuries; and
* Facilitating effective communication of injury data, development and implementation of prevention programmes that involve a more extensive scope of collaboration among the public and private sectors, academics, professional groups and non-governmental organisations.
V. Reducing alcohol-related problems
Excessive alcohol consumption, in the form of heavy drinking and/or binge drinking, is a risk factor for many health and societal problems. Special attention is paid to the increasing trend of underage drinking and related harms. Effective measures are through:
* Increasing awareness and knowledge of immediate and long-term harmful effects such as traffic accidents and damage to the liver and nervous system;
* Promoting responsible behaviours of adults to practise sensible drinking;
* Preventing binge drinking, in particular among young adults;
* Equipping the younger generation with the knowledge and coping skills to resist peer pressure to drink; and
* Empowering parents to communicate with their children on alcohol-related issues.
VI. Promoting the family doctor concept
The family doctor concept, which emphasises continuity of care, holistic care and preventive care, is an important component in enhancing primary care initiatives for better health. At present, the family doctor concept is not widely adopted among the general public. The required activities include:
* Promoting the benefits of having a family doctor as the first point of contact in the healthcare system for continuous, co-ordinated and person-centred care; and
* Empowering the public to improve their own health and that of their family members by establishing a partnership with their family doctors and adopting a preventive approach in improving health.
The assessment criteria for projects include:
* Effectiveness and sustainability of the programme;
* Potential in building community capacity in health promotion;
* Relevance to local health promotion and feasibility of the proposal;
* Justification of requested budget;
* Effectiveness of evaluation plan; and
* Track record of the administering institution and applicants.
The closing date of applications is July 29, 2011. All applications will be subject to rigorous review by the Health Care and Promotion Fund Committee and its Promotion Sub-committee, which comprises healthcare professionals and experts, individuals closely involved in community affairs and government representatives.
Principal applicants must represent a non-profit-making organisation, a registered community group or a group formed under a registered non-profit-making body. Successful applicants may be awarded full or partial support normally not exceeding $300,000 on a one-off basis for Non-Research Health Promotion Projects and $500,000 for the Seed Funding Scheme.
Established by the Government in 1995, the purpose of the HCPF is to strengthen health promotion and disease prevention work. To date, over 200 health promotion projects have been supported.
Guidance notes and application forms can be obtained from the Research Fund Secretariat, Food and Health Bureau, 18/F, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, or the website at www.fhb.gov.hk/grants . Enquiries can be made by fax at 2102 2444 or by email to rfs@fhb.gov.hk.
Ends/Thursday, April 28, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:01
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