Self-Care Readiness Index

1) Launch of the Self-Care Readiness Index 2.0

During its Global Congress in Cape Town, GSCF launched the second edition of the Self-Care Readiness Index (SCRI), examining how self-care policies are being implemented across the world. The first and second editions of the Index, together covering 20 countries, demonstrate very clearly that there is a widespread lack of a coherent view of self-care and its benefits.

 

self care readiness 1

 

SCRI 2.0 covered Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. This complemented the countries covered in the first edition: Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

self care readiness 2

 

Key Resources

 

2) About the Self-Care Readiness Index

 

 

SCRI is intended to serve as a practical tool for self-care advocates and a catalyst for further debate on the importance of self-care as an effective means to improve the long-term sustainability of health care systems and individual health outcomes, reduce out-of-pocket expenses, and enhance productivity.

The Index is the result of thorough research into each country’s healthcare system, led by GSCF and in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicines and Integrated Health Services Unit, with the support of the eminent healthcare professionals who made up the Expert Advisory Committee.

 

Phase 1 of the report concluded with three emerging themes characterizing the global state of self-care:

  1. Self-care is culturally relative and defined in a different number of ways
  2. Individual empowerment hinges on continued efforts to boost health literacy, having credible, consistent sources of information about self-care, and aligned healthcare providers
  3. Self-care legislation is common, but disjointed; numerous government strategies, plans and programs touch on self-care, but few call it by name or paint a coherent healthcare policy vision

 

Phase 2 of the Index confirmed the growing importance of self-care, and its diverse benefits for individuals, societies, and health systems. However, it also reinforced that greater awareness of the concept of self-care and above all more robust self-care government policies could generate even more significant benefits through the implementation of further self-care policy measures.


For more information on the report click here.