Self-Care Forum

The Power of Public Health Campaigns

Libby Whittaker — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:03:07 +0000

By Libby Whittaker, Self-Care Forum Manager

Public health campaigns have shaped the UK for nearly two centuries. Their power lies in their ability to change behaviour, shift culture and drive policy – a formula proven from Victorian sanitation reforms to modern NHS messaging.

Early Public Health Campaigns

Local and national authorities have issued public health advice as early as the medieval period, especially during epidemics such as plague. But one of the first recognisable public health campaigns emerged in the mid-1800s, led by activists in the “Health of Towns Association.” Through public meetings, lectures and publications they raised awareness of the health consequences of unsanitary conditions in Victorian Britain. Their efforts contributed directly to the Public Health Act of 1848 after which public health messaging became more structured. Local authorities began issuing regular advice focused on sanitation, infections disease control and vaccination.

Evolution of Public Health Campaigns

Since then, public health campaigns have evolved from simple warnings to more sophisticated behavioural change programmes shaped by our growing understanding of how to reach people effectively.

Campaigns such as the 1986 “AIDS: Don’t die of Ignorance” set the template for modern public health communications. The “5 A Day” campaign in 2002 influenced school food standards, supermarket labelling and public discourse around healthy eating. The 2007 “Smokefree” campaign supported smoke-free legislation and contributed to long-term declines in smoking prevalence.

More recently, COVID-19 represented the largest public health mobilisation in UK history. Multi-channel messaging across TV, radio, digital platforms and community networks it used behavioural insights to achieve one of the fastest mass vaccination rollouts globally. It demonstrated the power of consistent, repeated messaging.

Recipe for success

Across history, the recipe for a successful public health campaign has remained remarkably stable: deliver clear scientific messages through compelling media, build strategic alliances, shift cultural norms, seize political opportunity, define a clear problem and repeat simple actions consistently across trusted messengers.

Consistency matters. The Self-Care Forum’s recent joint research with Imperial College London’s SCARU (the Living Self-Care Survey Study) found that respondents did not remember NHS guidance on important public health information such as exercise recommendations or alcohol limits. This applies not only to the public but also to health professionals.

A drip feed of messages is essential to ensure they are noticed, remembered and acted upon.

National Self-Care Week (16 – 22 November)

National Self‑Care Week provides the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of self‑care and support people’s health literacy. Everyone working in health and public health can get involved as part of their aim to help people help themselves. It doesn’t have to be complicated — simple actions such as putting up posters, sharing social media posts, drafting blogs, or organising a coffee morning or walking event can make a meaningful difference.

Messages must be easy, timely, relevant and socially normal

But there is an important distinction, awareness is not the same as action. People can know what they should do and still not do it. Successful campaigns therefore need to think beyond the message itself, making the desired behaviour easy, timely, relevant and socially normal.

Baring this in mind, Self‑Care Week and other organised awareness‑raising events have the potential to be incredibly impactful especially when multiple organisations and individuals push the same self‑care message.

The Self‑Care Forum hopes that many health and public health organisations and individuals will take up the mantle for National Self‑Care Week and help shape behavioural change.

Tips for targeted self-care campaigns

Keep messages simple and active “Got a sore throat? Use the Self-Care Forum’s fact sheets for trusted health information.”
Use trusted local messengers Practice nurses, community pharmacists, link workers, and public health teams carry credibility.
Ensure messages are reassuring, not dismissive “Self-care is safe for most common conditions.” “Here’s where to go for help.”
Partner across sectors to increase local impact Community pharmacies and surgeries, schools and community centres, local authorities and local businesses.
Give people tools and resources Self-Care Forum fact sheets, daily tips, videos, books, and symptom timelines.
The real measure of a campaign is not how many people saw it, but what they subsequently did.

When health and public health professionals work together – across GP practices, pharmacies, councils, schools, and community organisations – campaigns become movements. They help people feel confident, capable, and informed. They turn knowledge into action. And they make self‑care not just an individual choice, but a shared social norm.

Conclusion

As we look ahead, the question is not whether public health campaigns work, history shows they do. The challenge is ensuring we design them with the behavioural intelligence, partnership working, and cultural awareness needed to meet today’s pressures. When we do, campaigns like Self‑Care Week can become powerful catalysts for healthier communities, stronger systems, and a more resilient public.

For more information about National Self-Care Week click here >

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Loneliness: Why self-care is something we do together

Libby Whittaker — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:48:13 +0000

Blog by Dr Austen El-Osta, Self-Care Forum Trustee

When we think about self-care, we often picture healthy eating, exercise, good sleep or taking medicines appropriately. These are all important, but there is another aspect of health that is just as fundamental and often overlooked: our social connections.

Loneliness is a normal human experience. Most of us will feel lonely at some point in our lives, whether following bereavement, retirement, illness, moving home, relationship breakdown or simply during periods of transition. Feeling lonely from time to time is not unusual. However, when loneliness becomes persistent, it can have profound effects on both physical and mental health.

Research over the past decade has consistently shown that prolonged loneliness is associated with poorer wellbeing, increased anxiety and depression, lower quality of life and a greater risk of developing long-term health conditions. It can also influence how people engage with healthcare, reducing confidence in managing their own health and making it harder to adopt healthy behaviours.

This is why loneliness should not be viewed solely as a social issue. It is also a public health issue and an important consideration for anyone interested in self-care.

Good self-care depends on more than knowledge or motivation. It is influenced by the environment in which we live, the resources available to us, and the people around us. Family, friends, neighbours, community groups, voluntary organisations and healthcare professionals all play an important role in creating the conditions that enable people to look after their health.

What the evidence shows

Earlier this year, we published initial findings from the Measuring Loneliness in the UK (INTERACT) study, which is the largest global study on loneliness to date. More than 230,000 people took part, providing valuable insights into how loneliness affects people across different ages and circumstances. While the findings confirmed that loneliness remains a significant challenge, they also highlighted something encouraging: social connectedness and strong community relationships are closely associated with better wellbeing and greater resilience. Emerging evidence from the INTERACT study also suggests that loneliness is not experienced uniformly throughout the day since reports of loneliness were lowest in the morning and highest in the late afternoon and evening, highlighting the importance of ensuring that support and opportunities for social connection are available when people may need them most.

Self-care is stronger together

The good news is that there are many practical ways we can protect ourselves and others from the harmful effects of loneliness. The first is recognising that staying socially connected is an important part of maintaining good health. Just as we schedule time for physical activity, we should also make time to maintain relationships with family, friends and neighbours. Even small, regular interactions can make a meaningful difference. Secondly, participating in local activities can help build a stronger sense of belonging. Volunteering, joining community groups, attending exercise classes, participating in hobby clubs or simply visiting a local library or community café all provide opportunities to develop new social connections.

Technology can also help. Video calls, online communities and messaging platforms enable people to stay connected when distance, mobility or caring responsibilities make face-to-face contact difficult. Digital tools are not a replacement for human interaction, but they can provide valuable support, particularly when used alongside in-person relationships.

Healthcare professionals increasingly recognise the importance of social wellbeing. Through social prescribing, many people are now being connected with community activities, exercise groups, welfare advice, arts programmes and voluntary organisations that address the wider factors influencing health. These approaches recognise that improving health often requires more than medical treatment alone.

There is also something each of us can do for others. A phone call, an invitation for coffee, checking in on an older neighbour or simply taking the time for a conversation can have a lasting impact. Acts of kindness strengthen not only the wellbeing of those receiving them but also our own sense of purpose and connection.

The future is brighter when we get there together

As our population ages and more people live with long-term conditions, supporting social wellbeing will become increasingly important. Building healthier communities is not only about improving access to healthcare services; it is also about creating opportunities for people to remain connected, engaged and supported throughout their lives.

Self-care has always been about empowering people to take greater control of their health and wellbeing. But perhaps one of the most important lessons is that self-care is rarely something we do entirely by ourselves. The strongest foundations for good health are often built through our relationships with others. Looking after our social wellbeing may be one of the most valuable investments we can make for ourselves and for the health of our families, our communities and society as a whole.

Dr Austen El-Osta, Director, Self-Care Academic Research Unit (SCARU), Imperial College London

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International Self‑Care Day: A 24/7 Commitment to Better Health

Libby Whittaker — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:25:46 +0000

24 July marks International Self‑Care Day — a reminder that self‑care matters every hour of every day. But our BMJ Open research shows self‑care isn’t just an individual responsibility; it’s a system‑wide duty that must be embedded into policy, professional practice and everyday conversations.

What is happening in the UK?

Our Living Self‑Care Survey Study shows strong willingness but weak support:

88.5% feel confident maintaining a healthy lifestyle
91.9% feel confident managing common illnesses
Yet 51.4% struggle to evaluate treatment options
43.6% find mental health information hard to access
28.1% find it difficult to interpret screening information

“These findings show people want to self‑care but are not fully supported to do so,” says Dr Pete Smith, Self‑Care Forum President and lead author of the study. “Health literacy remains one of the biggest barriers — and one we must urgently address.”

Healthcare professionals echo this gap, citing patient reluctance (64.8%), poor understanding of self‑care (59.0%) and health literacy challenges (45.8%).

Click here to access the Living Self-Care Survey Study including the BMJ Open paper >

Nutrition for Wellbeing 24/7

Healthy eating is this year’s theme for International Self‑Care Day. And while our research shows people feel confident maintaining a healthy lifestyle, many struggle to interpret screening information. This means that when health information — including nutrition guidance — becomes more technical or complex, people can find it harder to navigate and act on.

“Good nutrition is one of the most powerful ways people can support their own health,” says Helen Donovan, Chair of the Self‑Care Forum. “But they need clear, consistent information to feel confident doing so.”

Behaviour Change Matters

Trevor Gore, Self‑Care Forum Trustee and behavioural science expert, points out that turning intention into action requires supportive environments, not just advice.

“As a nation, we’re not short on motivation — we’re short on the right conditions for behaviour change,” he says. “If we want people to make healthier choices, we must make those choices easier, clearer and more accessible in everyday life. We must reduce the friction that stops people being able to self‑care.”

A Self-Care Forum Resource to Help

Our POWER of Self‑Care framework supports people to:

Prevent illness
Observe changes
Work with professionals
Engage with reliable information
Respond to symptoms

Click here to access the Self-Care Forum Fact Sheets >

It directly addresses the gaps highlighted in our research — especially the need for clearer information and stronger professional encouragement.

A Call to Action

The UK public is ready to self‑care. They just need better support.

On 24 July, we call on professionals, policymakers and community organisations to:

Strengthen public confidence
Improve access to reliable health information
Embed self‑care into everyday practice

Self‑care is a 24/7 commitment to better health.

International Self-Care Day (ISD) was established by the International Self-Care Foundation (ISF) in 2011 to raise awareness about the benefits of self-care globally. The ISF produced the 7 Pillars of Self-Care as a way to illustrate the different elements of self-care.

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Should self-care be a routine part of primary care?

Libby Whittaker — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:15:56 +0000

Self‑care is already a powerful force in the UK — but the health system has yet to catch up says Self-Care Forum President, Dr Pete Smith writing in the Healthcare Leader.

The Self-Care Forum’s recent UK‑wide study – the Living Self-Care Survey Study – shows that nearly nine in ten adults feel confident maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and over 90% believe they can manage common illnesses independently. Yet many healthcare professionals still perceive patients as reluctant or poorly informed, creating a mismatch that limits progress and undermines one of the few scalable solutions to rising demand in primary care. This contradiction lies at the heart of the problem.

This disconnect is fuelled by differing definitions of self‑care, gaps in health literacy, and structural barriers such as time‑pressured consultations and inconsistent messaging. The public is willing and ready; the system is not yet designed to support them.

Embedding self‑care into routine primary care — supported by clear information, stronger partnerships, and multidisciplinary teams — would help people make informed decisions, reduce pressure on services, and improve outcomes across the NHS. The public has already moved. Policy, practice, and professional culture must now follow.

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Click here to go to the full article on Healthcare Leader >

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Building better self-care systems globally

Libby Whittaker — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:51:45 +0000

“No plan survives first contact with the people we’re trying to help… what’s needed is something that is locally driven,” says Dr Peter Smith OBE, president of the Self‑Care Forum.

His point sits at the heart of a new report by the Economist Enterprise – Making self-care work: integrating self-care into health systems – a report supported by Bayer.

The report shows that while self‑care can widen access, improve outcomes and ease pressure on overstretched health systems, countries struggle to integrate it because responsibilities are unclear, safeguards vary and support is uneven.

Dr Smith’s emphasis on localisation reflects the report’s finding that self‑care only works when it is shaped around real communities, their cultures, their levels of trust and the practical realities of how people navigate health.

The report argues that successful self‑care requires clear governance, equitable financing, reliable information and referral pathways that connect people back to formal care when needed. Our president’s emphasis on localisation strengthens this message: national commitments alone are not enough. Self‑care must be adapted to local settings, supported by trusted messengers and designed to reduce—not widen—inequities.

Click here for “Making self-care work: integrating self-care into health systems” Economist Enterprise Report >

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A note to our international visitors

Libby Whittaker — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:07:04 +0000

The Self-Care Forum is a UK-based charity, but we are delighted that our site is visited regularly by so many people from around the world. We would like to make sure that our website delivers best value to all our friends.

If you are visiting from outside the UK, please share your thoughts with us on you and your local priorities. Get in touch with us via email: selfcare@selfcareforum.org.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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Mind the Gap: Unlocking the Potential of Public Engagement in Self‑Care

Libby Whittaker — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:51:41 +0000

Blog by Dr Pete Smith OBE, Self-Care Forum President

Public interest in health, wellbeing, and self-care has expanded dramatically in recent years. Online references to self-care topics have surged—from roughly 300 million in 2017 to over 6 billion by 2023—reflecting a growing willingness among individuals to invest time, effort, and resources in improving their health and ‘wellness’. This widespread engagement should create ideal conditions for delivering the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, particularly its emphasis on prevention.

Despite this, many healthcare professionals remain cautious about the rise of self-care.

Different perspectives

Recent research conducted by the Self-Care Forum[i][ii]in collaboration with Imperial College London’s Self-Care Academic Research Unit (SCARU) surveyed more than 3,000 UK adults, including clinicians. The findings indicate that self-care is both widely recognised and actively practiced by the public. Individuals increasingly take responsibility for managing their own health: 88% report handling common symptoms themselves, while only a very small minority (2%) consult a GP. Similarly, the use of over-the-counter treatments for common symptoms has more than doubled (from 22% to 46%) over the past decade.

However, the same study highlights a contrasting professional viewpoint. Around two-thirds of healthcare professionals identified lack of public engagement, limited understanding, and reluctance to take responsibility as the main obstacles to effective self-care.

If preventative healthcare is to become a reality, this disconnect must be addressed. Failure to do so risks wasting the momentum generated by an engaged public—and may leave individuals more vulnerable to unreliable information online.

Understanding the roots of the gap

Different interpretations of self-care

A key issue lies in how self-care is defined. Members of the public typically view it in broad terms, encompassing lifestyle choices, wellbeing, and everyday health decisions, as illustrated in the Self-Care Forum’s Self-Care Continuum[iii]. By contrast, many professionals adopt a narrower, clinical definition that centres on “supported self-care,” where patients act under guidance to manage or prevent specific conditions.

In practice, self-care spans a continuum—from daily behaviours that promote wellbeing, to prevention strategies, to managing both acute and chronic conditions. When professional discourse focuses mainly on supported approaches, it can overshadow the importance of independent self-management. Ideally, healthcare advice should complement and reinforce an individuals’ own actions, rather than replace them.

Concerns about information quality and quantity

Another factor contributing to scepticism is the vast and variable quality of health information available online. While the sheer volume of content highlights strong public interest, it also raises valid concerns about accuracy and reliability.

Both patients and clinicians have expressed unease about this. Patients may struggle to judge credibility, while professionals worry about misinformation, longer consultations, and challenges to their expertise. The so-called “heartbeat moment”—when clinicians are presented with unfamiliar online information during an appointment—illustrates these tensions clearly[iv][v].

Although these concerns are justified, disengaging from the issue is unlikely to be effective.

Bridging the divide

Addressing the gap requires meeting people where they are—recognising their existing engagement and supporting it with clear, trustworthy guidance. This includes helping individuals understand what constitutes normal symptoms, when professional input is needed, and where to find reliable advice, while also acknowledging that many situations can be managed independently.

Many healthcare professionals are already adopting more constructive approaches, including:

Recognising the full scope of self-care
Embracing a broader understanding that includes wellbeing, lifestyle, and prevention, not just clinical management.
Working in partnership with informed patients
Viewing patients’ online research as a starting point for discussion rather than a challenge, and using it to build shared understanding.
Being open about uncertainty
Acknowledging limits to one’s own knowledge and valuing patients’ efforts to engage with their health.
Signposting trustworthy resources
Directing patients to credible UK sources such as NHS.uk, Patient.info, and organisations accredited with quality marks like the PIF TICK[vi].
Using shared reference materials
Providing accessible information, such as Self-Care Forum fact sheets[vii], that align professional advice with public understanding.
Improving resilience to misinformation
Encouraging use of tools and guidance designed to help individuals identify and avoid unreliable health information such as the NHS’s Misinformation UnMASKED[viii].

Importantly, this is not solely the role of GPs; the wider primary care team, including social prescribers, can play a key role in guiding people to appropriate resources.

Conclusion

There is clear evidence of a mismatch between how self-care is perceived by the public and by healthcare professionals. This divide has important implications for the success of prevention-focused healthcare strategies.

Yet the foundations for closing this gap are already in place. By adapting professional attitudes and building on public enthusiasm, it is possible to create a more aligned, collaborative approach to self-care—one that delivers substantial benefits without requiring major new resources.

Click here for “What is the interplay between self-care confidence, professional support and health literacy among UK adults? A cross-sectional online survey study” BMJ Open Paper

References

[i] Smith P, Altalib S, Al Ammouri M, et al

What is the interplay between self-care confidence, professional support and health literacy among UK adults? A cross-sectional online survey study

BMJ Open 2026;16:e110378. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-110378

[ii] El-Osta A, Altalib S, Al Ammouri M, Smith P Understanding Demographic Disparities and Personal Barriers to Self-Care in the UK: Findings from the Living Self-Care Survey Study

medRxiv 2025.06.01.25328757; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.01.25328757

[iii] What is self-care and why is it good for people and the NHS? – Self-Care Forum

[iv] Ahluwalia S, Murray E, Stevenson F, Kerr C, Burns J. ‘A heartbeat moment’: qualitative study of GP views of patients bringing health information from the internet to a consultation. Br J Gen Pract. 2010 Feb;60(571):88-94. doi: 10.3399/bjgp10X483120. PMID: 20132702; PMCID: PMC2814261.

[v] The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland. 2015. Dealing with self-diagnosing patients | MDDUS

[vi] PIF TICK Certification | Patient Information Forum

[vii] Fact Sheets – Self-Care Forum

[viii] Misinformation-UnMASKED-checklist.pdf

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Men’s Health Week 2026

Libby Whittaker — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:22:41 +0000

Blog by Dr John Chisholm CBE, Self-Care Forum Trustee, Men’s Health Forum Chair and President of the British Medical Association (BMA)

Men’s Health Week 2026 runs from 15 to 21 June. The Week is organised by the Men’s Health Forum, and this year’s theme is ‘men and pharmacy’. The Forum will be publishing a new report focusing on how men can make better use of pharmacies to improve their physical and mental health. Currently, almost three-quarters of men who visit pharmacies don’t discuss their health with a pharmacist, whereas there should be a real opportunity to turn pharmacy visits into greater engagement with preventative health services. The Men’s Health Forum has developed a five-step plan to help pharmacies engage with men: creating a welcoming space; appointing a men’s health champion; offering dedicated services; improving access and guaranteeing privacy; and engaging proactively with men in the local community.

In 2024, 36 per cent of men died before their 75th birthday, with nearly one in five dying before they were 65.
Male life expectancy is lower than in many other OECD countries and varies substantially within the UK between the richest and poorest areas.
Men spend, on average, over a fifth of their lives in poor health and die nearly four years before women.
Men’s healthy life expectancy is just 61.5 years.
Men face high rates of suicide, cancer mortality, diabetes, and deaths from heart disease and COVID-19.
Men of working age are less likely to visit doctors than women.

Premature death and ill health have consequences for society and families, resulting in benefit costs and economic and tax losses.

Faced with such statistics and evidence and given the very real impacts on individual men, their families and society, the Men’s Health Forum has been campaigning for a men’s health strategy for many years. In 2014, the Forum published a manifesto calling for a national Men’s Health Policy including a national strategy. We have worked with other organisations, including Global Action on Men’s Health, the Men and Boys Coalition, Prostate Cancer UK and Movember; have given evidence in Parliament to the Women and Equalities Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee; and have written to previous Secretaries of State.

So it is right to celebrate the announcement of the Government’s commitment to a Men’s Health Strategy for England by Wes Streeting, the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in November 2024 and to welcome the publication of that Strategy a year later, and the establishment of an Academic Men’s Health Network. In between announcement and publication, there was a call for evidence that involved healthcare and charitable organisations as well as input from men and boys. It is right too that there is a Women’s Health Strategy in England, which has been recently renewed and updated. Both Strategies complement each other and should improve outreach (including into the workplace), access to services, gender-informed, gender-responsive and gender-appropriate healthcare, prevention, appropriate screening, research, health outcomes, and the training of healthcare professionals. A gender-blind approach to healthcare is worse for men and worse for women.

It is indeed important to emphasise that looking after men’s health better would produce a healthier, happier and more productive society and would also benefit women and girls.

Although there are increasing differences between the NHSs in the four countries of the UK, the Men’s and Women’s Health Strategies in England may help to inform and influence a strategic, gendered approach to healthcare for men and women elsewhere in the UK.

Click here for Men’s Health Strategy for England published by Department of Health and Social Care (November 2025) >

The Strategy’s action plan includes a number of initiatives which will facilitate and encourage self-care: access to NICE-approved apps and digital health solutions; identifying what works, including through research, to improve health literacy and address health inequalities; building men’s media literacy skills; reaching out to men in ways tailored to their needs, through channels they engage with; improving the uptake of Men’s Health Checks; empowering parents to build their children’s resilience to misleading and polarising online content; and supporting men’s social connection and promoting accessible and engaging services.

We need a holistic, evidence-based, gender-informed approach to men’s health, an approach that addresses the social determinants of health, and societal gender norms and expectations, and is underpinned by research and evaluation. We need to improve men’s health by better addressing and preventing the range of underlying causes and barriers that have a negative impact on men’s health. We need to improve the health literacy of all citizens, including through education in schools, and to facilitate and encourage self-care. It is important too that there is a partnership between Government, NHS Integrated Care Partnerships, local authorities, business, civil society and voluntary sector organisations which advocate for men’s health.

Finally, it’s important to consider how best to communicate with men. That includes making sure messages and campaigns are couched positively and are engaging, are gender-informed, recognise differences in communication styles and encourage health-seeking behaviour. We need to avoid stigmatising men and boys through negative messages, victim-blaming and facile assumptions about toxic masculinity.

Click here for Men’s Health Forum report “An Unfilled Prescription: Tapping Pharmacy’s Potential to boost Men’s Health” >

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Self-Care Is Not a Checklist: It’s a Capability

Libby Whittaker — Tue, 19 May 2026 08:43:49 +0000

Why health literacy underpins effective, consistent self-care

By Self-Care Forum Board Member, Dr Lynne Baxter

In an age where we are surrounded by constant advice on how to optimise our health, from influencers to clinical sources, and with 6 in 10 UK adults using online platforms to look up symptoms of self-treatable conditions¹, self-care has never been more prominent, nor more difficult to navigate. The challenge is no longer access to information, but knowing what to trust, how to apply it, and when to act.

Self-care is often reduced to a set of behaviours in the media: eat well, move more, manage stress, sleep better. While important, this framing risks turning self-care into a checklist rather than recognising it as a capability.

Effective self-care must be broader than recognising the need to look after our bodies; fundamentally, it requires understanding them. This means knowing what is normal for us, recognising early changes, and interpreting how our bodies respond to lifestyle, stress, environment and illness. That understanding creates the autonomy and ownership needed to make appropriate decisions and take action.

At its core, self-care is making, and acting upon, informed choices for our health.

This definition matters. Without the ability to make informed decisions, self-care becomes guesswork, shaped by trends, habits, and fragmented advice rather than understanding. In this context, even the most well-intentioned behaviours lack direction and are difficult to sustain.

Beyond lifestyle behaviours such as nutrition, movement and sleep, self-care also involves the ability to recognise and manage minor, self-limiting conditions with confidence. This includes navigating over-the-counter (OTC) medicine options, understanding when self-treatment is appropriate, and knowing when to seek professional advice.

In practice, this is where self-care becomes real. It is reflected in everyday decisions: how we interpret symptoms, the actions we take first, and how we respond when those actions are not enough. These are not trivial choices; they are the foundation of how individuals interact with the healthcare system.

Health literacy underpins this. To care for ourselves effectively, we must be able to access, understand and apply health information in a way that is relevant to our own lives. Health literacy is not simply about knowledge; it is about decision-making capability.

The consequences of this gap are already visible. Despite 9 in 10 UK adults reporting confidence in using OTC medicines, 75% of GP consultations for self-treatable conditions still result in advice to use OTC treatments¹. Confidence, it seems, is not the issue. Applied understanding is.

Most of us will recognise the experience: a quick search for a minor symptom returns hundreds of answers, often conflicting, and rarely tailored to our own context. What begins as reassurance can quickly become overwhelming. In that space, uncertainty grows, and it becomes easier to default to the perceived safety of a GP appointment rather than acting with confidence.

For self-care to work in practice, people need access to health information that is not only credible, but usable. This includes everyday support provided by pharmacists, alongside trusted sources such as the NHS and organisations like the Self-Care Forum.

Information must be accessible at the point of decision, enabling individuals to act with confidence, rather than defaulting to uncertainty.

Self-care is not just what we do for our health; it is how well we understand the choices available to us, how confidently we act on them, and how consistently we apply them over time. If we want self-care to be effective, health literacy must be treated as a foundational component, not an optional extra.

Self-care is not a checklist. It is a capability, and one that will increasingly define how individuals engage with their health, and with the healthcare system.

Self-Care Forum’s self-care fact sheets are perfect resources to help empower people to understand when and how to take care of their self-treatable conditions. Click here to access the fact sheets >

¹PAGB-Self-Care-Census-Report-2025.pdf

² PAGB publishes Self-Care Census Report 2024 | Patient Information Forum

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Celebrating the life of David Webber

Libby Whittaker — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:40:11 +0000

The Self-Care Forum is sad to announce the death of David Webber this month , the founder of the International Self-Care Foundation and International Self-Care Day (24/7). David was a delight to work with and played an important part in gaining recognition of the importance of self-care internationally. We will miss him. Our thoughts are with his family.

Dr Peter Smith OBE MBChB, President, Self-Care Forum

Click here for David’s obituary >

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