This month is Self Care Awareness Month.
Self care can mean choosing a healthier diet, doing more exercise, or quitting smoking; in other words the things we do to look after our health and wellbeing. Self Care is also, increasingly, seen as a way to make healthcare more widely available, cost-effective and empowering for patients.
The World Health Organization divides self care into self care actions- the things we can all do to stay healthy and improve our general well-being and self care interventions - using diagnostic and monitoring tests and tools ourselves that, historically, would be provided only by healthcare professionals.
Integrating self-care actions and self-care interventions into health promotion and healthcare treatment is growing in importance. There are a number of reasons for this. Among these is the rapid rise in noncommunicable diseases across the world. Conditions such as dental decay, heart disease and certain cancers can be delayed or prevented through self-care actions- such as exercise, good dental hygiene and a healthy diet. Self care interventions, such as monitoring our blood pressure or blood sugar levels at home help us to detect elevated health risks before they spiral into a health crisis.
Why self care means more than personal choices
Another driver of self care is the need to expand access to diagnoses and treatment. For billions around the world, healthcare isn’t accessible enough because it’s too far, too expensive or there simply aren’t enough trained providers.
A third reason is patient empowerment. Self-care interventions can increase patient safety, privacy and confidentiality - especially in monitoring and treating sexually transmitted infections and in women’s health.
In situations in which seeking healthcare can attract stigma or even put a patient in danger, options such as home tests can encourage more people to get tested, or seek a diagnosis - helping to protect themselves and other people from further illness or harm.
How self care means healthcare for more people
Finally, for the people responsible for planning our healthcare, self care interventions can offer value-for-money, extend the reach of their programs and bring us closer to the goal of health for all. In a world where the cost of even basic healthcare is a huge burden for many people, the expansion of self-care interventions is opening up new possibilities and, if properly integrated into health systems, self care can help make healthcare more affordable and more equitable.
How cost-effective self care can strengthen health systems
The WHO Foundation
At the WHO Foundation we support WHO to promote, protect and provide health by mobilizing funding for its health programs, including self care interventions.
Contact Vanessa Rousselle, Head of Strategic Engagement to find out more about opportunities to support the future of healthcare through self care.
