Below are extracts from a new paper in the WHO Bulletin. Although not specifically about alcohol, it raises questions. 'WHO defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.' How does this apply to Alcohol Use Disorders? I suspect that 'the ability of individuals...' is *especially* important in AUD?
Read online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10835638/?report=classic
CITATION: Bull World Health Organ. 2024 Feb 1; 102(2): 140–142.
doi: 10.2471/BLT.23.290927
Self-care interventions and universal health coverage
Manjulaa Narasimhan et al.
'Self-care is not a new concept, but the public health sector has only recently started actively promoting tools that provide greater autonomy and agency to people without formal health training to manage their health for themselves and those in their care (Box 1). Self-care interventions that can be provided as additional options to facility-based care include diagnostics such as pregnancy, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or human immunodeficiency virus self-tests; devices to self-monitor blood glucose and/or blood pressure; and drugs such as emergency contraception or for self-management of medical abortions...
'WHO defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.
'What are self-care interventions? WHO defines self-care interventions as tools that support self-care. Self-care interventions include evidence-based, quality drugs, devices, diagnostics and/or digital technologies which can be provided fully or partially outside of formal health services and can be used with or without the support of a health worker.
'Self-care interventions can meet many health needs, including for quality, reliable, evidence-based and age-appropriate health information; for the availability and accessibility of quality, regulated self-care interventions; and for cost-effective care that does not place clients at financial risk.
'To make self-care interventions sustainable and equitable, government public health policies must be focused on ensuring that evidence-based, quality self-care options are available and health workers are trained to promote them...'
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
