The Self Care Week Review of 2020’s activities reveals that more than 900 individuals and organisations took part in this UK-wide national event, helping it to reach millions of people in the UK. 

Numbers were slightly down compared to 2019’s Self Care Week however, this was expected given the national restrictions in place due to Covid19. Indeed, a Self Care Week survey found that the plans of more than half of respondents had been adversely affected as a result of social distancing limitations.

Chair of the Self Care Forum, Helen Donovan commented “despite the challenges 2020 brought for Self Care Week, I was delighted to learn that more than 900 NHS organisations, charities, pharmacies, therapists, libraries, local authorities, gyms, clubs, universities and schools once again promoted the benefits of self care to their audiences.  Yes, numbers were slightly down on last year, but given the restrictions and the uncertainty at the time, I would like to applaud all of those that found a way to participate in what is a fixed public health event in the calendar.”

Continuing with this sentiment, Self Care Forum President, Dr Pete Smith added “every year my admiration increases at the hard work and dedication that people and their local organisations put into Self Care Week activities. In 2020 it grew beyond measure. Undeterred by the challenges, we witnessed more innovation than ever across the country as self care for life became a necessity for everyone. The Self Care Forum is proud yet humbled to help people in achieving this.”

A few highlights from the Review are:

• Self Care for Mental Wellbeing was the top self care message
• Social media, particularly twitter, was the favoured medium
• Self Care Forum Fact Sheets the most popular resource used with 1316 page views during the Week.

Also revealed by the Self Care Week survey, was that around 60 per cent of respondents did not know the Self Care Forum is a charity.  Indeed, more than 20 per cent believe the charity to be part of the NHS.  This isn’t the case.  As a charity, the Self Care Forum relies on sponsorship and donations to continue to champion self care and provide free resources on a wide range of self care issues to people-facing organisations.  As such we would like to thank our four sponsors for their support.