Self-Care
People are Canada’s greatest healthcare resource, but their potential is too often underestimated and under-valued.
Canada needs a National Self-Care Strategy now to:
Practicing self-care empowers Canadians to make healthy lifestyle choices, treat manageable health ailments, manage or prevent chronic diseases, and so much more. Prioritizing self-care makes sure people keep their families healthy and ensures our healthcare system is there for them when they really need it.
Even small changes have major impacts—take the common cold as an example. Right now, 86% of Canadians manage their colds without relying on a doctor visit. If we could increase that number by just 2%, Canada could eliminate more than 3 million unneeded doctor visits annually. This would free up enough physician time to allow an additional 500,000 Canadians access to a family doctor.
Evidence shows that self-care has substantial health, economic, and social benefits. According to the World Health Organization, self-care increases access to medical care and quality of services, decreases inequities, improves social outcomes, and reduces overall healthcare costs.
After the United Kingdom identified self-care as one of its four National Health Service pillars and instituted supportive policies, use of publicly-funded healthcare services reduced significantly, health and quality of life improved, and NHS patient satisfaction increased.
People are Canada’s greatest healthcare resource, but their potential is too often underestimated and under-valued.
Canada needs a National Self-Care Strategy now to:
Practicing self-care empowers Canadians to make healthy lifestyle choices, treat manageable health ailments, manage or prevent chronic diseases, and so much more. Prioritizing self-care makes sure people keep their families healthy and ensures our healthcare system is there for them when they really need it.
Even small changes have major impacts—take the common cold as an example. Right now, 86% of Canadians manage their colds without relying on a doctor visit. If we could increase that number by just 2%, Canada could eliminate more than 3 million unneeded doctor visits annually. This would free up enough physician time to allow an additional 500,000 Canadians access to a family doctor.
Evidence shows that self-care has substantial health, economic, and social benefits. According to the World Health Organization, self-care increases access to medical care and quality of services, decreases inequities, improves social outcomes, and reduces overall healthcare costs.
After the United Kingdom identified self-care as one of its four National Health Service pillars and instituted supportive policies, use of publicly-funded healthcare services reduced significantly, health and quality of life improved, and NHS patient satisfaction increased.
Learn more:
Learn more about the ways you can practice self-care at home at selfcare.ca
Read FHCP’s Blueprint for Development of a National Self-Care Strategy. Summary (English, French). Full Blueprint (English, French).
Click here to learn more about self-care.