The Handbook of Primary Healthcare: The Case of Hong Kong

Primary healthcare is fundamental and integral to all health systems, identifying persons at high risk for early intervention and continuing care, and providing health equity and security to meet the health needs of the community. Health promotion, disease prevention, long-term care, health education, integrative care, and monitoring and self-management of chronic conditions in primary healthcare practices are acknowledged as cost-effective compared to the more resources-intensive secondary and hospital-based care. Primary healthcare in times of public health emergencies like theCOVID-19 pandemic has a pivotal role in protecting the health and lives of the community. This handbook adopts a transdisciplinary approach with a wide scope of perspectives and case studies and is intended for international readers. It consists of four parts that describe the foundations of primary healthcare and systems, practices in primary healthcare, psychosocial context and primary healthcare, as well as developments in primary healthcare. The chapters provide current knowledge and delivery of healthcare in the community setting to practitioners in primary healthcare. The contents serve as a useful reference, with case studies, to policymakers, researchers, primary healthcare professionals, community health practitioners, health managers and higher education students in practical, philosophical and scholarly issues. The handbook does not follow the common clinical practice or service-based approach found in most books on primary care. Contributors are academics and practitioners coming from diversified professional and academic backgrounds in medical, dental, Chinese medicine, nursing, allied health, dietetics, pharmacy, nutritional science, food technology, social work, biomedical sciences, administration, laws, social sciences, public policy, information technology, marketing, mass communication and history, with international educational background and experience.