Handbook Positive Health in Primary Care: The Dutch Example

Increasing numbers of general practitioners are discovering the benefits of working with Positive Health. It helps to talk with patients in a different way, with a focus on possibilities rather than on the impossibilities related to a particular health problem. This is good for the patient. And for the general practitioner. But how do we apply Positive Health? This handbook provides useful tools!

The book is full of tips, tells the story of how the concept was first developed and gives practical examples. It explains the underlying scientific basis of Positive Health ― with a clear emphasis on what is meaningful to patients. And, above all, this book invites you to start working with Positive Health on various levels ― in your consulting room, your practice and in the local community. Because cooperation and combined effort are key. You will experience how Positive Health seamlessly fits the core values and challenges of all aspects of primary care.

The handbook is intended for all primary care professionals as well as those who are still in training. It describes the Dutch health care system and the experiences related to inspiration, implementation and the anchoring of the Positive Health concept into this system. The publication is indispensable for anyone who wants to provide meaningful primary care using the Positive Health concept. 

‘When I heard about Positive Health and the spider web, I felt that it gave us a much wanted tool to empower our patients and the community.’

Elínborg Bárðardóttir, general practitioner & programme director primary care training, Primary Healthcare in Iceland

Machteld Huber is a former general practitioner and founder of the Positive Health approach. General practitioners Hans Peter Jung and Karolien van den Brekel-Dijkstra are working with Positive Health every day in their medical practices. All three are associated with the Institute for Positive Health (iPH).