Self Care Week has become a phenomenal success as a well established, multifaceted initiative raising awareness about the benefits of self care and this Self Care Week Review captures the highlights from the Week.

In 2019 more than 1000 individuals and organisations took part – 400 more than the previous year. This rapid rise in participants using Self Care Week to empower their audiences provides a clear indication of the relevance of self care and the importance of its promotion.

Largely, participants are from traditional health organisations particularly those at the primary care level. And whilst it is a national initiative, Self Care Week is particularly popular in England with 120 of the 200 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) taking part, covering a population reach of more than 30 million people.  Many CCGs also ran a week-long programme of activities and events during Self Care Week often choosing to collaborate with local partners to strengthen community engagement and reach.

Commenting on Self Care Week 2019, the Self Care Forum’s chair, Helen Donovan said “we are delighted that local organisations continue to use Self Care Week as a tool to empower their local communities, helping them to understand that self care does not mean no care, but instead, is about supported care and having the confidence, reassurance and knowledge to practice self care for life.”