ABSTRACT
‘Prevention is better than cure.’ It is a truism which reminds us to think of how to prevent the disease by changing our health behaviour rather than treating the disease when it is deteriorating or in a late stage. The primary health care development takes a long way back to 1978 with the Alma-Ata Declaration. It aims to promote health equity globally and is one of the core concepts to enhance the population health. Undoubtedly, local groups like non-governmental organisations, educational institutions, support groups in districts, etc., are playing a key role in promoting health in the community. Meanwhile, the demand of public health service is increasing with an ageing population, and shortage of health care staff at all levels in the past 10 years. It has added a great burden to the public health care systems. Therefore, it is interesting to explore the reasons behind of the above situation and the question: how the local groups can shape the advocacy of population health in a better way? This chapter first explores the factors contributing population health and then provides two cases of the local group practice in primary health care system. The roles of the local groups playing in the community, their interconnection, the accessibility and availability of the resources are further discussed. To achieve health for all, it is recommended to provide different measures via a multidisciplinary approach to enhance health literacy for everyone in the community.
