Press Releases

Applications for Health Care and Promotion Fund invited

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 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 applications targeting underprivileged groups who are vulnerable to ill-health, and health promotion programmes carried out in primary care settings.

"To sustain the effects of health promotion interventions, multidisciplinary approaches and cross-sectoral collaborations engaging the community to create supportive environments and to empower individuals to take ownership of their health are keys to success," a spokesman for the bureau said today (April 25).

In addition, higher funding priorities will be accorded to the following thematic areas:

I. Tobacco control

While smoking is known to cause many fatal diseases and cancers, continuous effort is required to put "what we know" into "what we do". Measures to prevent and reduce tobacco exposure include:

* Exhorting youth, women or workers in high-stress careers 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 forego 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 fundamental for preventing many chronic diseases. Community involvement to complement government initiatives in fostering active living, healthy eating, tackling overweight 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;

* Enhancing the availability of affordable healthy food and beverages to families and decision makers of schools;

* Empowering the younger generation to adopt healthy lifestyle practices such as 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;

* Increasing physical activity participation and reducing 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 to promote positive mental well-being. Youth, families, schools and communities benefit when working in partnership to address the emotional and behavioural needs of the younger generation;

* Developing specific individual skills, through setting approach, life-course approach and experiential approach, to cope with stress;

* Raising awareness and understanding of mental well-being and acceptance through community support to reduce the stigma against people with and recovering from poor mental health and their family carers so as 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, sports injury, falls, traffic accidents and unintentional injuries in children by:

* Encouraging community stakeholders to take the lead in coordinating actions to prevent or reduce injuries;

* Identifying environmental and behavioural risk factors of vulnerable populations; and

* Facilitating effective communication of injury data, development and implementation of prevention programmes that involve more extensive collaboration amongst public and private sectors, academics, professional groups and non-governmental organisations.

V. Reducing alcohol-related problems

Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for many health and societal problems. Special attention is paid to the increasing trend of underage drinking and alcohol-related harms. Effective measures are through:

* Increasing awareness and knowledge of immediate and long-term harmful effects of alcohol consumption such as traffic accidents, violence and injury, as well as diseases associated with alcoholism such as liver cirrhosis and cancer;

* Conveying the health risk of alcohol consumption to the population, especially young adults, to assist them in making informed decisions about alcohol use;

* 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 family doctor model of care

The family doctor model of care, which emphasises continuity of care, holistic care and preventive care, is essential to primary care initiatives for better health. Awareness and understanding of this model needs to be further promoted in the community so that patients will be more receptive to the care of their family doctor and reduce doctor-shopping behaviour. The required activities include:

* Promoting the benefits of having a family doctor as the first point of contact in the healthcare system for continuous, comprehensive, coordinated and person-centred care; and

* Empowering the public to improve their own health and that of their family members by establishing a long-term partnership with their family doctor and adopting a preventive approach in improving health.

VII. Empowering the community in the management of chronic diseases

Chronic diseases are common in the community and rise in prevalence as the local population ages. According to the two reference frameworks for diabetes mellitus and hypertension care developed by the Task Force on Conceptual Model and Preventive Protocols of the Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee, the community should be empowered so that patients and their carers are made aware of their own roles in disease prevention and management. The required activities include:

* Equipping patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertension with the necessary knowledge and skills to properly manage these two chronic diseases and prevent complications; and

* Promoting to the general public the benefits and importance of supporting their family members, neighbours and friends with diabetes mellitus and hypertension in managing their health condition.

The assessment criteria for the 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 for applications is July 31, 2012. 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/Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:01

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