Prevention is Primary: Strategies for Community Well-Being

At a time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for public health, Prevention is Primary: Strategies for Community Well-Being provides models, methods, and approaches for building health and equity in communities. WestEd's Bonnie Benard, leading expert on asset-based youth development and author of the bestselling Resiliency: What We Have Learned, authors a key chapter, "The Hope of Prevention: Individual, Family, and Community Resilience."

Written in accessible and understandable language, this book discusses the theory, concepts, and models needed to harness social justice and to practice primary prevention of unnecessary illness and injury. Authored by national experts and associates of the Prevention Institute, it is a theory-to-practice book for community leaders and practitioners, students, and faculty who want to take a proactive stance against the most pressing health problems in the community. The book includes illustrative community case studies such as:

• Health equity and social justice
• Personal and community resilience
• Coalition building
• Chronic disease prevention
• HIV intervention beyond behavior change
• Gender, health, and prevention
• Public health advocacy
• The power of local communities
• Public health and criminal justice

With a practical understanding of prevention on a community level, the authors define the elements of comprehensive, quality prevention efforts — from the necessary partnerships that need to be developed to the training, vision, and policies that determine the success of a prevention program.