People Centred Public Health

Author: Jane South, Judy White, Mark Gamsu

This book, written by Professor Jane South, Director of the Centre for Health Promotion Research at Leeds Metropolitan University, Judy White, Senior Lecturer, and Visiting Professor Mark Gamsu, examines how members of the public can get involved in public health, primarily as volunteers or lay health workers.

In an economic and political climate where there is renewed interest in the role of the citizen, the authors challenge old orthodoxies in public health and build a coherent argument for radical change in the way public agencies support lay action. The book is aimed at readers with an academic or professional interest in public health and/or community involvement, including practitioners and managers within public services and the voluntary sector, and post-graduate and undergraduate students studying public health, health promotion, public sector management, social policy and community work.

With a foreword by Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Dr Mike Grady People Centred Public Health draws on a major study led by Leeds Metropolitan University.

"I recommend this book to anyone interested in the future of public health. It offers a compelling guide to the policies, research and practice for anyone engaged in helping people and communities to become active citizens taking control of the factors that will radically improve their health."

David Buck, Senior Fellow, Public Health and Health Inequalities, Kings Fund