Why should we be supporting people to look after their own health?
National Self-Care Week (16 – 22 November 2026) is a UK-wide annual national awareness week that focuses on establishing support for self-care across communities, families and generations.
More needs to be done to support people to better look after their own, and their family’s health and wellbeing. Empowering individuals to self-care has many benefits for their short term and long-term health and this is important since people are living longer, but not always in good health.
Supporting people to take better care of their health also helps to manage demand on health services.
What's on this page?
Why participate?
National Self-Care Week provides organisations with a focus to hold a targeted self-care initiative to support people’s ability to take care of their own physical health and mental wellbeing.
The strength of National Self-Care Week is in the numbers. The greater the number of voices communicating and repeating self-care messages at the same time, makes for a more successful Week with a greater reach and impact.
“Self-Care Week is the one time of the year when so many different organisations can own the same message.”
[Ade Williams MBE, Community Pharmacist, and Self-Care Forum Trustee]
Start with branding
We know the importance and power of branding, which is why we had an award-winning designer develop our National Self-Care Week icon using our theme Mind & Body.
By using official branding material your Self-Care Week activity will be connected to the bigger, national public health initiative.
You are invited to use the icon as freely as you wish for your National Self-Care Week activities and promotions.
Self-Care Week Material
As well as our heart icon, we have posters in portrait and landscape. They are colourful and eye-catching and will grab people’s attention whether uses on digital displays or printed and put up at receptions, corridors, resource packs and added to websites or social media.
We also have off-the peg text that can be used on websites, in newsletters or emails to highlight Self-Care Week
Click here to access the Self-Care Week text >
Click here to access the Self-Care Week Posters >
Self-Care Week Presentation
We have developed a simple slide deck in power point which can be adapted to fit your discussions to explain the concept of National Self-Care Week to colleagues, collaborators and partners.
Click here to access the Self-Care Week pp presentation >
Self-Care Forum Resources
Our self-care aware fact sheets are designed to empower individuals and help them understand how to take care of symptoms of common ailments. They are ideal resources for Self-Care Week. Here are ways you can use them:
- Promote heathy living with our POWER fact sheet
- Promote women’s health with our Menopause fact sheet
- Use our Winter Illness and Winter Wellbeing to prepare people for the winter months
- Our Boosting Your Mood can help as part of a mental wellbeing promotion.
Collaboration
National Self-Care Week is a perfect time to collaborate on a bigger, wide-reaching initiative to support people’s understanding and practise of self-care.
Local organisations, including community pharmacies, GP surgeries, local councils, businesses, and libraries, are invited to collaborate to help support community health. Organising a week-long series of events and activities can make a greater impact.
Activities across 7 days
Arranging activities for each day of National Self-Care Week can help create greater engagement and a bigger impact locally, especially if activities involve an array of local agencies.
A “Mind & Body” health fair can kick off your National Self-Care Week with stalls including details about local services, sharing health resources, offering blood pressure checks and promoting the benefits of a range of self-care practises. More ideas are highlighted throughout this resource.
Go where people are
Make use of places with a captive audience such as waiting rooms, receptions, shopping centres, staff rooms, etc to promote self-care messages. Here are more ideas:
- Use free space to set up a walk-in screening check for free blood pressure checks, blood sugar level checks or another type of disease screening
- Hold a lunch n learn or a coffee morning event to provide a Q&A on a specific health topic. You could choose something that affects most of your vulnerable patients in the local area.
- A similar event could be held online via FB perhaps also inviting external experts to offer their advice as part of a panel or solo presenter.
Health expert talks or articles
Interactive self-care talks and Q&A sessions can be hugely beneficial when delivered by experts such as physiotherapists, nurses, pharmacists, doctors, health coaches and trainers etc.
- Experts can participate in a health phone-in session on a specific topic on your local radio or TV broadcaster
- Offer an interactive talk at the local school, or college or university on a self-care topic or how the NHS works
- Write a health series of articles for the local newspaper –on the benefits of exercise, connection, loneliness, nutrition etc
- Employers can invite a health coach or trainer to talk to colleagues about exercise, nutrition, stress, work-life balance etc.
- Libraries are great places for community events
Seminars, conferences and events
Organising a seminar, conference or event as part of National Self-Care Week can help to share knowledge, launch new and old services and promote the benefits of practising self-care.
Interactive sessions can also be incorporated into events to discuss self-care topics as part of the event.
Movement and exercise
Exercise is essential for healthy bodies and minds and is proven to reduce stress. As a focus, it is ideal to promote as part of your Self-Care Week activities and our Moving More and Power fact ssheet can help. Other ideas:
- Organise a community trail or walk locally
- Work with your local gyms to set up free taster sessions
- Introduce a free online exercise class for local residents who are house-bound
- Publishing blogs or organising a Q&A on the local radio can also reach a wider audience
- Introduce walking meetings rather than sit down ones.
- Employers could introduce free or discounted gym membership or set-up a running club
Mental Wellness
Since more people are suffering with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and stress it is good to incorporate advice and recommendations on how people can protect themselves:
- Help promote work-life balance, encourage workplaces to actively discourage workers from working past their hours and through lunchtime to promote work-life balance
- Publish blogs and articles with a focus on advice
- Promote messages via a social media programme
- Organise events and activities with health experts
- Set-up a coffee morning, book-club or work with local men’s shed to help with social connection
Social media
A simple way to participate in National Self-Care Week is via your social media platforms. In addition to a 7-day social media campaign, it can also be used to advertise local Self-Care Week events and activities.
Please connect to the Self-Care Forum’s social media platforms Instagram, Bluesky, X, facebook, and LinkedIn and tag us for a share and like. Please also use #selfcareweek #mindandbody.
Social media assets will be available 2 weeks before Self-Care Week covering exercise, signposting, connection, mental wellbeing and common ailments. Keep an eye on the website or email selfcare@selfcareforum.org to register your interest.
Thank you for participating in National Self-Care Week and making a difference to people’s understanding and practise of self-care.
Consider entering our Self-Care Awards. Details on the website.