Self care as per park textbook 28th edition
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Self Care in Health
Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine
Definition
Self care is defined as:
"Health activities, including promotion, maintenance, treatment care and health related decision making, carried out by individuals and families."
It refers to those activities individuals undertake in:
- Promoting their own health
- Preventing their own disease
- Limiting their own illness
- Restoring their own health
These activities are undertaken without professional assistance, although individuals are informed by technical knowledge and skills.
The generic attribute of self care is its non-professional, non-bureaucratic, non-industrial character; its natural place in social life.
Background and Context
Although health is recognized as a fundamental human right, it is essentially an individual responsibility. It is not a commodity one individual can bestow on another. No community or state programme of health services can give health - in large measure, it has to be earned and maintained by the individual himself, who must accept a broad spectrum of responsibilities, now known as "self care."
Self Care Activities
Self care activities include:
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Observance of simple rules of behaviour relating to:
- Diet
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Weight control
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Drugs
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Attention to personal hygiene
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Cultivation of healthful habits and lifestyle
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Submitting to selective medical examinations and screening
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Accepting immunization and carrying out other specific disease-prevention measures
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Reporting early when sick and accepting treatment
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Undertaking measures for prevention of relapse or spread of disease to others
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Family planning - which is essentially an individual responsibility
Rationale / Why Self Care is Important
- The shift in disease patterns from acute to chronic disease makes self care both a logical necessity and an appropriate strategy.
- By teaching patients self care (e.g., recording one's own blood pressure and blood sugar level), the burden on official health services would be considerably reduced.
- Health must begin with the individual.
Self Care in Chronic Disease (e.g., Diabetes)
A crucial element in secondary prevention is self care. The diabetic should take major responsibility for his own care with medical guidance, including:
- Adherence to diet and drug regimens
- Examination of his own urine
- Other self-monitoring activities
Self Care in the Context of Population Strategy
An important element in community-based health programmes is patient participation. The patient is taught self-care - to take an active role in managing their own condition rather than remaining a passive recipient of health services.
Source: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, Chapter 1 - "Self care in health" section (lines 1816-1822, block 1)
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