This article draws on updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) on community engagement, and the evidence that informed that guidance, to discuss the role and potential of engaging with the community in primary care to improve health and well-being.

In practice, there are several different ways of engaging with communities, and practitioners need to choose the way that fits best with their project, community and ways of working – Public Health England and NHS England (2015) maps the range of evidence-based options.

Two examples are used to illustrate different approaches to community engagement: one in which lay people from the community provided diabetes education, and one in which volunteers worked with a specialist nurse to provide a holistic arthritis support service.