Engaging Diverse Community Groups to Promote Population Health through Healthy City Approach: Analysis of Successful Cases in Western Pacific Region

Albert Lee and Keiko Nakamura
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Albert Lee: Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
Keiko Nakamura: Secretariat, Alliance for Healthy Cities, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-26

Abstract: Background: A substantial global burden of health can be attributed to unhealthy lifestyles and an unhealthy living environment. The concept of a Healthy City is continually creating and improving physical and social environments to enable healthy living. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the Healthy City concept would tackle the complexity of health by addressing the socio-economic and political determinants of health in the Western Pacific Region. Methods: The SPIRIT model adopted by the Alliance for Healthy Cities can provide a framework for an integrated and holistic approach to enable policy, environment, social matters, behaviours, and bio-medical interventions to take their rightful place side by side. The performance of cities awarded by the AFHC was analysed under each domain of the SPIRIT model to show the efforts striving to acquire the qualities of a healthy city. Findings: Two cities have incorporated the Healthy City concept in most of their policies outside the health sector, with a high level of commitment from city leaders and citizens, so the Health City activities were recognised as part of the means to advance the cityies’ general planning. One city has made use of its strong network of key stakeholders from different sectors and disciplines to establish a “Medical–Social–Community’ model. All three cities have collected health information to reflect health status, determinants of health and issues reflecting health promotion to enable the creation of a city health profile and show positive changes in health. The cities have engaged key stakeholders to launch a variety of health-promoting programmes according to the needs of the population. Conclusion: The AFHC can play an important role in linking the cities with strong action in Healthy City activities to support other cities in Healthy City development.

Keywords: health promotion; community engagement; healthy city; healthy setting; determinants of health; built environment; public health; urban governance; SPRIRIT framework; Alliance for Healthy Cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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