ABSTRACT
As primary health care professionals, community health practitioners are dedicated to render their services including promotive and preventive health care in the communities. They engage and urge the community members to join hands with them to take action to improve their health by concerted and collective efforts. In this regard, community health practitioners are considered as drivers of community engagement which is integral to shaping a community which is conducive to health. The definition of community – from rural villages to mega-cities, and from a geographical community to a network sharing common interests without a geographical border – has been constantly revised in view of its diversity and complexity. The roles of community health practitioners and the practice of community health will be re-visited. A conventional multidisciplinary community health team is made up by doctors, nurses, psychologists, a range of therapists, social and community workers, health educators, researchers and community health workers. The last one to two decades saw professionals from more diverse backgrounds joining such health endeavours, they are information technology and communications technicians, and professionals in marketing, public relations, social media, copywriting, language and translation. The rationale of employing such non-medical and health professionals is to enrich the competence and skill mix, and enhance the technological know-how for community health practitioners to convey the core health messages to the targeted groups in the community. Drawing experience in the health promotion unit of the Centre for Health Protection, Hong Kong government and other organisations in Hong Kong, the author would first examine the constantly evolving concept of community health, the personnel who are engaged in such health efforts and the ultimate goal – enhancing community health for the community members in Hong Kong, China.
