Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (FPAHK),
Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE

• To promote family planning awareness at the grassroots and to encourage couples to practice family planning 

• To provide information and education to facilitate people making informed decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health

• To arrange health services for women to obtain contraceptive consultation and annual check-up service 

• To promote family sex education, to encourage and equip parents to implement sex education at home

• To improve the status of women by encouraging them to develop their potential and manifest their leadership and other abilities 

BACKGROUND

The Family Planning Association initiated the Women’s Clubs project in 1978. By adopting a community-integrated approach, the project has  successfully reached grassroots families and provided them with services and information on family planning, as well as education programs to enhance their awareness of sexual and reproductive health. 

With the aim to empowering women to address issues related to their sexual health, the  “Women’s Sexuality Health Workshop” was held in April 2000 as a joint attempt of the Hong Kong University and the FPAHK Women’s Club was developed as a psycho-educational intervention program. 
 

SCOPE 

The “Women’s Sexuality Health Workshop” was targeted at married women living in the local public housing estate and the topics covered included sexual hygiene, stress, satisfaction in marital and sexual relationship as well as intimacy between parents and children. 

MAIN ACTIVITIES 

The workshop lasted for 4 days with 90% attendance of the target group. A pre-test interview with the participants was conducted before the commencement of the program. During the session, participants were encouraged to interact through games, role plays, video shows, open discussions and sharing, group discussions and presentations.  A post-test was then implemented to measure the effectiveness of the program. 

EVALUATION FINDINGS 

Feedback received from the participants proved that the workshop was a good project because apart from promoting sexual and reproductive health awareness among women, the program has also helped these women develop positive attitude towards sex and their sexual relations with their partners. 

However, the criteria for the workshop participants should include married couples, men, and menopausal women so that they all benefit from the activities. The program should be more focused on communication skills to promote better interaction between husband and wife.  Follow-up services should be provided for participants who have unmet needs after the workshop.

Collaborative projects amongst agencies have also proven to be effective in pooling and making better use of expertise and resources. 
 

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 

Strategy

• Conduct interview sessions with participants before commencement of workshop to collect information on their attitude and communication pattern about sexual health. 

• Incorporate games, role plays, video shows, open discussions and sharing, group discussions and presentations

• Award certificate of appreciation to recognize their attendance and participation 

• Highly motivated women are further trained to be “Health Ambassadors” to help advocate and disseminate health information in their communities

Capacity Building

• Targeted grassroots families are empowered through the knowledge of available services and information on sexual and reproductive health

• The capability of these women are further enhanced through further training to be “Health Ambassadors” in the community

Mobilizing Resources 

• Target community women to empower them through increased sexual health awareness 

• Train “Health Ambassadors” to further strengthened community sexual and reproductive health knowledge

Managerial Leadership

The workshop was conducted by 4 post-graduate students from the Hong Kong University and assisted by 2 fieldworkers from the FPA.