This book aims to redefine health care through nursing innovation and community empowerment. It provides a comprehensive overview of how resilient, equitable, and adaptive health systems can be developed around community needs, and how they can respond to rapid societal change and compounding risks in the digital age.

In an era marked by widening health disparities and complex health challenges, this book responds to the urgent call for a fundamental shift in how health services are conceptualized, governed, and delivered. It draws inspiration from the International Council of Nurses’ revised Code of Ethics and the World Health Organization’s strategy on integrated, people-centered health services, echoing the core principles of the Sustainable Development Goals—equity, human rights, and gender equality.

The book traces the evolution of nursing from Florence Nightingale’s pioneering work to contemporary global health and disaster challenges, advocating a paradigm shift from monetary value to health value. It urges a move toward holistic, people-centered care models that prioritize lived realities and community context over traditional disease-centric approaches.

Readers will find innovative methodologies for data governance and community-based analytics that strengthen local action and engagement—supporting disaster nursing, continuity of care, and community resilience.

This book provides a vital blueprint for integrating nursing practice into people-centered health systems, positioning open governance and disaster resilience as foundational pillars of democratic and sustainable health futures. It presents a practical roadmap toward universal health coverage by connecting community care, data-driven decision-making, and interoperable digital infrastructures—while promoting well-being-centred approaches that integrate work, social participation, and self-care.

The book is intended for community nurse practitioners, nursing students, public health experts, disaster management practitioners, and policymakers. It bridges theory and practice by offering implementable approaches and case-based insights, engaging readers in the design and execution of participatory health and disaster governance, and planetary health policy.

Sakiko Kanbara is a professor at Kobe City College of Nursing in Japan. She has been in Kobe since 1996 and received her BS and MS in Health Science from Kobe University and her Ph.D. from Okayama University, specializing in global health and disaster nursing. She has served as a researcher and practitioner in community care, disaster recovery, and disaster risk reduction in Asia and beyond. She founded EpiNurse, which won the Risk Award at the 2017 UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. In 2018, her hometown in West Japan was severely affected by catastrophic floods, and she worked closely with volunteers, multidisciplinary stakeholders, and local government leaders to support the response and recovery efforts. She served as Chair of the 8th World Society of Disaster Nursing Conference (WSDN2024) held in Kobe, Japan. Her work integrates disaster nursing, primary health care, open governance, and digital transformation to advance human security and community resilience.