Self-care Charter
Build your own path to better health
Choosing self-care to reduce health risks enables me to live well, and creates better health outcomes for me
I need:
Knowledge
Knowlege through clear, understandable information to help me recognise health risks, encourage me to make changes and give me confidence
- Access to appropriate and evidence-informed information and support improve my practice of self-care
- Public messages about health conditions lessen stigma and identify opportunities to reduce risk factors that assists me to be as healthy and resilient as I can be.
Access
Access to self-care support that is right for me no matter who I am, where I live, where I have come from, how old I am or how much money I have.
- Tailored approaches, connections, and support for selfcare interventions and practice are available to me if I live in a rural or remote area, am a First Nations Person, culturally and linguistically diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged, how old I am or identify with any other vulnerable group.
Choices
CHOICES to make my own decisions about my wellbeing with health care providers to keep me as well as I can be
- I can decide about my wellbeing, and treatment preferences.
Opportunities
OPPORTUNITIES to speak up for myself and to include others in discussions and decisions
- My views are respected; I can ask questions and I can include my family, carers, kin, or main support people in the discussions if I want them involved.
A National Self-care Strategy
A NATIONAL SELF-CARE STRATEGY that ensures I have focused, responsive, accountable, and effective self-care.
It will support me by:
- influencing change through evidence-based self-care information, education, guidelines and resources for me, my family, communities and for health services and professionals
- developing assessment tools and evaluation measures, policy development and leadership to ensure I have a responsive health system
- facilitating cost effective self-care initiatives that I can afford
- housing a national digital health, information, and resource library that I and others can access
- supporting government decision makers at all levels to include health in all departmental policies to
promote good health for me and reduce risk factors for poor health
Services Working Together
SERVICES WORKING TOGETHER to keep me living as well as possible throughout my life
This will help me by:
- Coordinated and collaborative health services across my life span
- Improving integration between community health agencies and beyond
- Recognising the impact of social factors on my health
- Addressing social and economic impacts if they relate to me
- Improving population health for me and others
Low-Cost
LOW-COST care that lessens the money I have to spend
- Through flexible funding models that support my self-care and helps me manage my chronic and complex health needs
- That provide value, are accessible, and reduce out of pocket costs to me
Health Care Workers
HEALTH CARE WORKERS providing advice and support relevant to me and my values and using their
training in self-care
- Competent, skilled, healthcare and lived experience workers help me make sound decisions relating to good self-care practices, support my decisions, and promote, initiate, and facilitate self-care support in a shared decision-making capacity with me
E-Health Technologies
E-HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES that give me easy 24/7 access to reliable information
- That’s credible, quality, appropriate models of self-care, delivered through digital health, telehealth, online or web-based resources for health advice and support that I can access anytime
- The models are underpinned by accepted Australian national quality standards
Research
RESEARCH that gives me confidence that I will get the best care I need based on the latest evidence
- Investing in evidence-based research, including lived experience evidence, informs best practice models for me and the healthcare system.
The development of this Charter was led by Lived Experience Australia in consultation with people who have lived experience of self-care of health conditions across Australia
Supporters
