The Routledge Handbook of Public Health and the Community

Community health is an emerging and growing discipline of public health and it focuses on the physical, social, and mental well-being of the people of specific districts. This interdisciplinary field brings together aspects of health care, economics, environment, and people interaction. This handbook is a comprehensive reference on public health for higher education students, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers of health care.

There are five key thematic sections in the book: perspectives in public health; community health in practise; planning, built, and social environment and community health; digital and mobile health; and, towards sustainable health in the community. Each theme explores the leading research and trends. This book aims to help achieve the shared goal of healthier communities and quality of life for the residents.

This collaborative work should be a very useful handbook to health professionals and government bodies in the planning of initiatives to improve population health, prevent chronic diseases, control infectious diseases and outbreaks, and prepare for natural disasters. This handbook integrates research and practise of public health in the community.

Ben Y.F. Fong is a Specialist in Community Medicine, holding honorary Clinical Associate Professorship at the two local medical schools in Hong Kong, China. He is currently the Professor of Practise (Health Studies) and Associate Division Head of the Division of Science, Engineering, and Health Studies of the College of Professional and Continuing Education, and Director of the Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research of the School of Professional Education and Executive Development, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has contributed to publications, including Primary Care Revisited: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for a New Era (as lead editor, published in 2020), a training manual for general practitioners in China published by the People’s Medical Publishing House in Beijing (as co-editor, published in 2020), over 30 health books in Chinese, and 40 journal papers.

Martin C.S. Wong is a Professor of the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Professor by courtesy of the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests include cancer screening and prevention of chronic diseases. He is the co-chairman of the Association of the Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), NCD stream; co-chairman of the Grant Review Board, Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), and a member of the Research Council, Food and Health Bureau; convener of the Advisory Group on Hong Kong Reference Framework in Primary Care Settings of the Primary Healthcare Office; a member of the Expert Advisory Panel in Implementation Science of the Hong Kong SAR Government; and the Editor-in-Chief of the Hong Kong Medical Journal (HKMJ). He was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, and Adjunct Professor of Global Health by Peking University.