Finalist
Embedding Self-Care into Policy, Practice, and Public Behaviour
by PAGB, the consumer healthcare association
Summary of work
Historically, promotion and adoption of self-care has been stifled by rigid access pathways, unnecessary prescribing habits and persevering perceptions of medical hierarchies, costing the NHS £1.7 billion each year.
The COVID-19 pandemic supported a short-term increase in the public’s willingness to self-care. However, by 2021, people were returning to pre-pandemic behaviours. A failure to embed self-care in public attitudes, alongside a lack of political awareness of the potential for self-care, risked jeopardising the progress.
PAGB knew it needed to act fast to ensure policies which support greater self-care – including enhancing the role of pharmacy and increasing the number of medicines available over-the-counter – were implemented. PAGB brought together leading organisations and voices from across the sector to develop a blueprint for a national self-care strategy and advocate for adoption of relevant policies.
The campaign resulted in a whole-scale shift in attitudes towards self-care among policymakers, healthcare professionals and the public, since 2021:
- Over 75% of our recommendations taken forward into government policy.
- 60% of people said they would use their pharmacist as a first step in seeking advice or medicine for self-treatable conditions – up from 47%.
- 86.6% of healthcare professionals view self-care as ‘very’ important to their clients – up from 54.3%.
Judges’ comments
‘Embedding self-care into policy, practice, and public behaviour’ impressed the judges with its clever use of data and challenging objectives. The campaign produced some really strong outcomes, with recommendations being taken forward by government, and the MHRA’s quote stood out to the panel.
