ECOLOGIA's Regional Grant-Making Program

Problem Solving for Better Health in Lithuania

Summary of Year 2006 Grants

Project: “Anti-smoking program for pregnant women”

Project Need: The number of smoking pregnant women is increasing because women do not understand how smoking harms their babies. This is related to the lack of information provided to the pregnant women by health care institutions.

Goal of the project: To reduce smoking cases among pregnant women. Educational program on smoking harms to the baby including distribution of informational materials and emphasizing importance of individual discussions with pregnant women, explaining to them how smoking affects the health of the unborn baby, and encouraging them to stop smoking. (Kaunas University Hospital).

Project: “Nursing care program and prevention of bedsores among severely ill in-home patients”

Project Need: Family members of severely ill people lack information on nursing care at home. Nursing care specialists are not able to visit these patients at home every day. This causes more problems for the patients and their family members.

Goal of the project: To prepare and distribute information about nursing care at home and to teach family members of ill in-home patients to provide nursing care in order to improve the health and prevent bedsores for the patients. Practical trainings and understandable written information would decrease the number of health complications among in-home patients. (Rozalimas Out-patient clinic, Pakruojis region; Northern Lithuania).

Project: “Waste separation and recycling program in Pasvalys Basic school”

Project Need: The waste people produce in their daily life is becoming a big problem for the environment. Some materials that are being considered as trash could be easily recycled and reused. This would help to save natural resources and protect our environment.

Goal of the project: To organize educational waste separation program for Pasvalys Basic school students and their parents. Students will be taught how to select recyclables, and they will start this campaign in their homes and in the school. This program should increase the number of households separating waste by 50%. (Levens Basic school of Pasvalys; Northern Lithuania).

Project: “Educational program on nursing care for family members of physically disabled”

Project Need: People with severe physical disabilities, and their family members, lack knowledge about their disability, about basics of nursing care at home, about social care and personal hygiene, and about psychological ways to overcome difficulties related to disability.

Goal of the project: To conduct individual trainings and provide round table discussions for the family members of the disabled, in order to improve the psychological state of the severely disabled people, to increase the home care providers' knowledge about nursing, and to improve social care and personal hygiene for severely disabled. (Society of Disabled of Elektrenai; Central Lithuania).

Project: “I want to grow up healthy”

Project Need: The number of respiratory diseases among Jurbarkas town kindergarten children is growing.

Goal of the project: To conduct an educational-practical program for kindergarten children and their parents about prevention of respiratory diseases by adopting healthy life style from early age of the child. This includes: evaluating and changing eating habits, spending more time outdoors even in cold weather, encouraging parents to take better care of their children in order to prevent diseases. During one year period program aims to decrease respiratory diseases among children by 50%. (Kindergarten “Nykstukas”, Jurbarkas; Western Lithuania).

Project: “Increasing physical activity among students with health problems”

Project Need: Some of Batniava Basic school students can not attend regular physical exercise classes because they have been diagnosed with vision problems, cardio-vascular, respiratory or other diseases. After conducting special tests, it became clear that such students lack knowledge about levels of physical exercise that could help them to improve their health. Even if the doctors do not recommend these students to attend physical exercise classes with other students, it is very important for the students to be involved in sports activities to the extent possible.

Goal of the project: To improve health of special group students and prevent from them from developing diseases caused by a passive life style. Special physical exercises prepared in accordance with the health state of students will help to increase students’ interest in sports, improve their health and prevent chronic diseases. (Batniava Basic school, Kaunas region).

Project: “Increasing physical activity among senior students of Kulautuva Secondary school”

Project Need: Physical activity is a very important factor for improving health and decreasing risks of chronic non-infectious diseases. 3-4 hours a day of exercising is optimal for student age children. But Kulautuva Secondary school tests indicate that only 42% of girls and 61% of boys are active in sports activities.

Goal of the project: During the period of this school year, to increase physical activity by 20% among senior students by organizing a program encouraging students go to sports: sports teachers will organize sports activities that would be of interest to the students, and health care specialists will conduct information sessions. (Kulautuva Secondary school, Kaunas region).

Project: “Program on healthy life style for fifth grade students of Rozalimas Secondary school”

Project Need: Surveys conducted in Rozalimas Secondary school indicate that students first try to smoke cigarettes in fourth through sixth grade. Later some of them become smokers.

Goal of the project: To prevent fifth grade students from smoking ,and to strengthen healthy life style habits among them, by conducting an educational program: round table discussions, individual meetings, physical exercises, organized leisure time, cooperation with parents. (Rozalimas Secondary school, Pakruojis region; Northern Lithuania).

Project: “Mobile out-patient clinic for rural community”

Project Need: The Municipality of Babrungas consists of 24 villages, and 2650 residents. Many of these residents are elderly, lonely, socially disadvantaged and ill people. 76 people live in remote villages. They do not have good access to medical and social care because there is no public transportation available.

Goal of the project: To provide medical and social services to the lonely ill people living in remote villages: nurse, social worker and volunteers of mobile “out-patient clinic” will visit these people periodically and provide needed services: not only medical and social help but also spend time with lonely people, communicate with them, discuss their problems and help them become a part of the community. (Community “Teviske” of Babrungas, Plunge region; Western Lithuania).

Project: “Improving leisure time for mentally disadvantaged”

Goal of the project: Project Need: Members of this society for mentally disadvantaged are people with minor mental disorders. They are passive; they are not interested in any activities. Especially it is related to the men – they don’t have motivation to be involved in any activities, and their passive life style causes increasing health problems.

Goal of the project: To help mentally disadvantaged improve their health, manage symptoms of disease and become more socialized by involving them into productive activities: Society members will make a billiards table for the Society. During the process each member will find the work which is of interest to him (metal, wood work or construction). When the table is made, people will spend their time playing billiards. This would help to reduce their disorders, to become more socialized. (Society for mentally disadvantaged “Bukime kartu”, Vilnius).

Project: “Diabetes school for residents of Seshkine suburb in Vilnius”

Project Need: Diabetes patients have little information about diabetes and its complications.

Goal of the project: To conduct an educational program for 100 residents – diabetes patents - on diabetes self-control and healthy eating in order to decrease the number of diabetes complications. (Society of diabetes of Vilnius and its region; Vilnius).