An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care

Diana Guzys RN, MN, Grad Dip Ed, Grad Dip Adolescent Health & Welfare, B Pub Hlth is Lecturer in Nursing in the School of Nursing, College of Health and Medicine at the University of Tasmania. After relocating to a rural environment and taking up a community health nursing role, Diana embraced a change in her professional practice and career direction. Health education and health promotion was the mainstay of her practice for over two decades, first as a generalist community health nurse and later as a secondary school nurse. Her current research demonstrates a return to seeking ways to improve and optimise the health of rural communities, and professionalism and practice of student nurses in rural and regional Australia.

Elizabeth Halcomb RN, BN (Hons), Grad Cert IC Nurs, Grad Cert Higher Ed, FACN, Ph.D. is Professor of Primary Health Care Nursing and Head of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Wollongong. She leads a strong research program in primary care nursing, with an emphasis on nursing in general practice, chronic conditions, preventive health and nursing workforce issues. In 2018, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame for her work in primary care nursing. In 2019, she was the first nurse to be awarded the Bridges-Webb Medal by the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care for her significant contribution to academic primary care teaching and research. Professor Halcomb has published over 235 peer-reviewed papers and has been a chief investigator of grants funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Medical Research Futures Fund and the Australian Research Council (ARC). She is the Editor of Nurse Researcher (RCNi).