What Makes Us Healthy? will inspire and support those who want to look again at what they are doing to improve health and wellbeing and to tackle health inequalities. It contains specially commissioned articles on the evidence for the beneficial effects of assets such as social relationships and networks on health and wellbeing; many examples and ideas about how to put asset principles into practice; and support with the tricky issue of evaluation and how to assess whether the new ways of working are having an impact. It is the follow up to the popular and influential 'A Glass Half Full' (Foot & Hopkins 2010).

Asset based working is not an alternative to properly funded public services. It challenges how those services are designed and delivered and requires a recasting of the relationship between commissioners, providers, service users and communities. It puts a positive value on social relationships and networks, on self confidence and efficacy and the ability to take control of your life circumstances. It highlights the impact of such assets on people’s wellbeing and resilience and thus on their capacity to cope with adversity including poor health and illness. These are things that need nurturing and supporting more than ever.
 

Download the paper here