Health Promotion International Advance Access originally published online on March 23, 2005
Health Promotion International 2005 20(3):285-295; doi:10.1093/heapro/dai003
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Building capacity for health promotion—a case study from China
1Formerly Australian Centre for Health Promotion, The University of Sydney, 2College of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, 3Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Chinese Ministry of Health, 4Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and 5Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Chinese Ministry of Health
Address for correspondence: Dr K. C. Tang, Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland E-mail: tangkc{at}who.int
During the period 1997–2000 a technical assistance project to build capacity for community-based health promotion was implemented in seven cities and one province in China. The technical assistance project formed part of a much larger World Bank supported program to improve disease prevention capabilities in China, commonly known as Health VII. The technical assistance project was funded by the Australian Agency for International Development. It was designed to develop capacity within the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the cities and province in the management of community-based health promotion projects, as well as supporting institutional development and public health policy reform. There are some relatively unique features of this technical assistance which helped shape its implementation and impact. It sought to provide the Chinese MOH and the cities and province with an introduction to comprehensive health promotion strategies, in contrast to the more limited information, education and communication strategies. The project was provided on a continuing basis over 3 years through a single institution, rather than as a series of ad hoc consultancies by individuals. Teaching and learning processes were developmental, leading progressively to a greater degree of local Chinese input and management to ensure sustainability and maintenance of technical support for the project. Based on this experience, this paper presents a model for capacity building projects of this type. It describes the education, training and planning activities that were the key inputs to the project, as well as the limited available evidence on the impact of the project. It describes how the project evolved over time to meet the changing needs of the participants, specifically how the content of the project shifted from a risk-factor orientation to a settings-based focus, and the delivery of the project moved from an expert-led approach to a more participatory, problem based learning approach. In terms of impact, marked differences before and after the implementation of the training activities were identified in key areas for reform, in addition to the self reported positive change in knowledge, and a high level of participant satisfaction. Key lessons are summarized. Technical assistance projects of this kind benefit from continuity and a high level of coordination, the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate teaching, and a clear understanding of the need to match workforce development with organizational/institutional development.
Key words: capacity building; health promotion; organizational capacity
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