Healthy Cities Project: Phase IV

Healthy Cities is a dynamic concept/approach, which seeks to put health high on the political and social agenda of cities and to build a strong movement for public health at the local level. The WHO European Healthy Cities Network consists of a network of cities from around Europe that are committed to a comprehensive implementation of the Healthy Cities concept. Based on the criteria that are renewed every five years, the cities are designated to the WHO Network. Each five-year phase focuses on a number of core priority themes, which are launched with a political declaration and a set of strategic aims. Phase IV (2003–2008) has three core themes being, healthy urban planning, health impact assessment, and healthy ageing, with additional core theme and encourages action to tackle obesity and promote physical activity and active living. In Slovenia, Celje with its around 50.000 inhabitants become one of the 50 cities, included in basic WHO Healthy Cities Network in the Phase IV of the project. It is presented as an example to illustrate this phase of the project

Healthy Kindergartens

Pre-school period is extremely important in adopting individual health behaviour. Consecutively it is very important how to present health and healthy behaviour to the child. The project is directed to create conditions for children’s well-being and health, education for a healthy behaviour, and support of social and professional partners. At the beginning of the nineties, a project entitled »Healthy Schools« was launched by the World Health Organization to stimulate schools for incorporation of health promotion in their curricula and everyday life. Since this project was relating to primary schools only, similar project entitled »Healthy Kindergarten« was developed in some European countries. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the development, aim, and goals of healthy kindergartens, and as an example how the project concepts could be implemented as a routine. The first case study is presenting the development of the »Healthy Kindergarten« project in Slovenia, and the »Health in the Kindergartens« programme, the successor of the project, implemented as a routine. The second case is presenting an intervention tool in Hong Kong where children’s health status was found to be poor

Supportive Environments for Health

The environment influences our health in many ways through exposures to physical, chemical and biological risk factors, and through related changes in our behavior in response to those factors. Globally, nearly one quarter of all deaths and of the total disease burden can be attributed to the environment. These findings have important policy implications, because the environmental risk factors can be modified by established, cost-effective interventions. The process of building an intersectoral approach, which recognizes all facets of a community, helps in both making and implementing a LEHAP. Coordinated actions can promote development strategies with multiple social and economic co-benefits, in addition to global health gains, both immediate and long term. Repositioning the health sector to act more effectively on preventive health policies, while enhancing intersectoral partnerships, is thus critical to addressing the environmental causes of disease and injury, and achieving better health for all. Our case study presents an example of intersectoral approach that resulted in a successful implementation of measures at different levels in local community to reduce air pollution in the urban area of Celje

Health Education in Practice a Bit Differently Than Usual

Health education is becoming more and more important approach to control various public health problems, epecially in the populations with high percent of older age groups. At the first sight this approach seems to be very easy to practice but to plan and to practice properly this approach in various target groups it is necessary to have certain knowledge and skills. On one hand there exist different target groups in the process of health education with different needs and with different level and capacity of accepting the information on health. Practice of health education in old age groups differs substantially from the practice in adolescents or preschool children. On the other hand health professionals with different undergraduate background could be involved in the process of health education among them also physicians. In Slovenia, physicians of different speciality, especially general practitioners and family medicine specialists could be involved in health education on different occasions. Getting certain skills in health education could be of enormous importance for them

Reorientation of Health Services

Health promotion is from one point of vision defined in terms of the several action areas among others comprising re-orientation of health services toward health promotion. According to this concept, health services were encouraged to move increasingly from predominantly curative approach to more preventive approach. The idea of comprehensive primary health care was launched. The paper is presenting problems related to application of comprehensive primary health care in practice in the period after adoption of Alma Ata Declaration. The case of Slovenia health care system and characteristics of its transition is presented as an example. Presented are current situation as well as broader context and possible solution in the future

Healthy Kindergartens

Pre-school period is extremely important in adopting individual health behaviour. Consecutively it is very important how to present health and healthy behaviour to the child. The project is directed to create conditions for children’s well-being and health, education for a healthy behaviour, and support of social and professional partners. At the beginning of the nineties, a project entitled »Healthy Schools« was launched by the World Health Organization to stimulate schools for incorporation of health promotion in their curricula and everyday life. Since this project was relating to primary schools only, similar project entitled »Healthy Kindergarten« was developed in some European countries. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the development, aim, and goals of healthy kindergartens, and as an example how the project concepts could be implemented as a routine. The first case study is presenting the development of the »Healthy Kindergarten« project in Slovenia, and the »Health in the Kindergartens« programme, the successor of the project, implemented as a routine. The second case is presenting an intervention tool in Hong Kong where children’s health status was found to be poor

Healthy Cities Project: Phase IV

Healthy Cities is a dynamic concept/approach, which seeks to put health high on the political and social agenda of cities and to build a strong movement for public health at the local level. The WHO European Healthy Cities Network consists of a network of cities from around Europe that are committed to a comprehensive implementation of the Healthy Cities concept. Based on the criteria that are renewed every five years, the cities are designated to the WHO Network. Each five-year phase focuses on a number of core priority themes, which are launched with a political declaration and a set of strategic aims. Phase IV (2003–2008) has three core themes being, healthy urban planning, health impact assessment, and healthy ageing, with additional core theme and encourages action to tackle obesity and promote physical activity and active living. In Slovenia, Celje with its around 50.000 inhabitants become one of the 50 cities, included in basic WHO Healthy Cities Network in the Phase IV of the project. It is presented as an example to illustrate this phase of the project

Healthy Kindergartens

Pre-school period is extremely important in adopting individual health behaviour. Consecutively it is very important how to present health and healthy behaviour to the child. The project is directed to create conditions for children’s well-being and health, education for a healthy behaviour, and support of social and professional partners. At the beginning of the nineties, a project entitled »Healthy Schools« was launched by the World Health Organization to stimulate schools for incorporation of health promotion in their curricula and everyday life. Since this project was relating to primary schools only, similar project entitled »Healthy Kindergarten« was developed in some European countries. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the development, aim, and goals of healthy kindergartens, and as an example how the project concepts could be implemented as a routine. The first case study is presenting the development of the »Healthy Kindergarten« project in Slovenia, and the »Health in the Kindergartens« programme, the successor of the project, implemented as a routine. The second case is presenting an intervention tool in Hong Kong where children’s health status was found to be poor

Supportive Environments for Health

The environment influences our health in many ways through exposures to physical, chemical and biological risk factors, and through related changes in our behavior in response to those factors. Globally, nearly one quarter of all deaths and of the total disease burden can be attributed to the environment. These findings have important policy implications, because the environmental risk factors can be modified by established, cost-effective interventions. The process of building an intersectoral approach, which recognizes all facets of a community, helps in both making and implementing a LEHAP. Coordinated actions can promote development strategies with multiple social and economic co-benefits, in addition to global health gains, both immediate and long term. Repositioning the health sector to act more effectively on preventive health policies, while enhancing intersectoral partnerships, is thus critical to addressing the environmental causes of disease and injury, and achieving better health for all. Our case study presents an example of intersectoral approach that resulted in a successful implementation of measures at different levels in local community to reduce air pollution in the urban area of Celje

Health Education in Practice a Bit Differently Than Usual

Health education is becoming more and more important approach to control various public health problems, epecially in the populations with high percent of older age groups. At the first sight this approach seems to be very easy to practice but to plan and to practice properly this approach in various target groups it is necessary to have certain knowledge and skills. On one hand there exist different target groups in the process of health education with different needs and with different level and capacity of accepting the information on health. Practice of health education in old age groups differs substantially from the practice in adolescents or preschool children. On the other hand health professionals with different undergraduate background could be involved in the process of health education among them also physicians. In Slovenia, physicians of different speciality, especially general practitioners and family medicine specialists could be involved in health education on different occasions. Getting certain skills in health education could be of enormous importance for them