Self-care--has DIY gone too far?
Year: 2006
Type: editorial
Abstract: Self-care, ‘the care taken by individuals towards their own health and wellbeing’,1 has always been commonplace. People have always made decisions about whether to attempt to manage their own symptoms, seek advice from lay networks, or go to a professional, be that a ‘bloodletter’, apothecary or herbalist. And self-care has continued to be a usual first step since the emergence of modern health care: for example, parents use thermometers to decide if their child needs a day off school, women use home tests for pregnancy, and Porteous et al report in this issue that members of the public prefer self-care to manage symptoms of minor illness.2 All these activities seem appropriate: patients and clinicians would probably agree that it is not desirable for waiting rooms to be filled with people requiring paracetamol or a sticking plaster.
More recently, healthcare providers have actively aimed to promote greater reliance on self-care by providing information and support for health problems. In the UK, this has been through NHS Direct, an increased emphasis on supporting self-care during professional training, and the development of the Expert Patient Programme.3,4 There are many drivers for this: an increase in the number of demanding patients has been reported;5 communication, partnership and health promotion are preferred by members of the public;6 and advances in technology have enabled the development of quicker, more portable devices and tests that are suitable for home use. Furthermore, increased public engagement, improved life expectancy and technological advances are all likely to impact on the costs of providing comprehensive health services,7 leading to a need to explore innovative …
Source: PubMed
Institution: University of Birmingham
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2149588872