In 1991 the Internal Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health which was established in the nineties and still is the main support of medical research, incl. research in the field of health and living conditions, where in the past ten years 224 research projects were implemented (8% of the total number of IGA grants). Of these 38% were concerned with relations between the environment and health and health determinants, 26% with mechanisms of the action of noxious substances, 20% with the development of methods and investigations of environmental factors and 16% were descriptive studies of health, exposure and health risks. The research assembled important findings onthe state of theseproblemsin theCzechRepublic. In 1993 the National Health Programme was founded as a newly conceived system of primary disease prevention and health promotion. It was built, similarly as the Internal Grant Agency on a grant basis, i.e. on support of health promotion projects acceptedincontests. Duringthe period of existence of the National Health Programme between 1993 and 2001(incl.) 1105 projects were implemented of a local, regional and nationwide scope. The project contributed to the maintenance of interest on the part of initiative communities and institutions in health promotion. They lack, however, due to inadequate total funds a sufficient power to ensure a more intense effect on health in the Czech Republic.

        Key words: research projects of health and living conditions - projects of health promotion and disease prevention - quantitative and qualitative aspects