The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote their own health, prevent disease, maintain health and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.” Self-care practices have the potential to promote preventive health, support the management of chronic diseases and reduce healthcare expenditure. At Bayer, we call our approach ‘science-led self-care’, and our mission is to use science to improve lives. So far, we’ve helped billions of people access science-based self-care solutions, and we won’t stop until everyone can benefit from safe, convenient daily health solutions. Our over-the-counter products have a long history of safety and efficacy. In order to understand and address the changing health needs of our consumers, we frequently undertakes population-based surveys with doctors and consumers, which enables us to improve our products. For example, our Supradyn Nutrition Survey and our study on Micronutrient deficiency demonstrated the need for multivitamins and multi-minerals in the Indian population and helped us offer improved solutions to correct the same.
Why should self-care be prioritized in a healthcare system?
We believe that self-care products which have a proven record of safety and efficacy can be used efficiently to manage simple conditions and symptoms such as headaches or sneezing, as well as minor skin infections. These products can be particularly beneficial for people who have limited access to healthcare facilities. It is essential to educate consumers, especially those in remote areas, on conscious self-care practices which will contribute to an overall healthy life.
Self-care also has an important role to play in preventive health. Balanced nutrition, exercise and stress management are some of the self-care techniques which can prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases and improve the overall physical and mental health of individuals. There is enough evidence to show that self-care practices such as hand hygiene can protect children from acute conditions such as diarrhea and respiratory tract infections.
Country Head for Bayer’s Consumer Health Division,
Bayer India
Chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and respiratory diseases require long-term treatment. Research has shown that good self-care practices for these conditions such as smoking cessation, exercise, diet control, self-monitoring of blood sugar and blood pressure and early recognition of acute episodes or complications can be used effectively to reduce the number of clinic or hospital visits.
Digital health solutions can also assist patients in the self-management of minor ailments. These interventions have the potential to decrease healthcare expenditure substantially.
Health literacy: a prerequisite for self-care
Health literacy is an important pillar on which self-care rests, and we are committed to educating consumers and their families so that they can make responsible use of self-care solutions. We launch initiatives to equip people with enough knowledge to self-manage common conditions like headache, allergies, itching, etc. We leverage the power of mobile penetration in the country to ensure that our initiatives reach the masses. Through such initiatives we want to close the gap between awareness and knowledge of self-care remedies so that people get the confidence to use these for themselves and their families.
Our attempt would be to ensure that everyone is educated to distinguish between the conditions that they can manage by themselves and those that need immediate medical attention. Responsible use of ‘science-led’ self-care can promote the health and well-being of the public. We believe that if people are encouraged to be active participants in their health, rather than passive recipients of healthcare, they can improve their physical as well as mental health, which is a step towards a much more healthier and happier India.
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