Abstract
Interviews were held with nine peripatetic professionals—district nurses, health visitors and social workers—working in New Deal for Communities (NDC) urban areas in the English West Midlands. They spoke of health in the community in three distinct ways: health as individual and family lifestyle; the local environment and health; and `life is a struggle for some'. Those who emphasized the individual and family lifestyle approach expressed frustration in their professional role. The two alternative discourses, while recognizing the influence of social determinants of health, were problematic in different ways, reflecting the lack of a clear alternative to the individual and family lifestyle model for public health professions.
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