Education, key to self-care and efficiency of public health in Latin America

education in health it is a key factor to empower the population in responsible self-care, which enhances social well-being and contributes to savings for public health systems of billions of dollars, highlighted the Latin American Association for Responsible Self-Care (ILAR).

The impact of health education and how to advance in the matter in the region was the central theme of a virtual meeting of experts organized by ILAR within the framework of International Self-Care Day, which is celebrated this Monday, July 24.

“Self-care is a fundamental strategy” for Latin American countries to achieve the expected improvement in health, said the president of ILAR, Juan Thompson.

The Health 2020 strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Policy on Integrated Care to Improve Health Results approved in 2022 by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) also highlight education as a key element to promote the empowerment and participation of individuals in decision-making regarding their health, he argued.

In addition, according to a study carried out by the Global Self-Care Federation (GSCF), in Latin America “7.2 billion dollars are saved to public health systems when people practice self-care, and it is projected that by 2030 this saving could reach 13 billion dollars.”

In this sense, self-care is defined as the ability of individuals and communities to promote health and prevent disease.

Therefore, this category includes the use of high-quality evidence-based over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements, devices, diagnostics and/or digital interventions that can be provided in whole or in part without the need for a medical prescription.

Reliable information, essential for health education

The availability of “reliable information” It is essential for self-care education to advance in the region, Thompson stressed, and this can be obtained through health professionals such as pharmacists and nutritionists, advertising, labeling, and inserts in self-care products.

For her part, the vice president of the Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas (FFA), Magaly Rodríguez de Bittner, highlighted the role “important of the pharmacist in literacy” in health to facilitate effective self-care.

He cited an industry survey that revealed that the 43% of those consulted conceive the information they receive at the pharmacy as sufficient to make a decision regarding self-care.

In this context, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), in collaboration with the FFA and ILAR, facilitated the translation of the new Spanish edition of the manual. “Empowering self-care: A manual for pharmacists”dedicated to providing guidance to these professionals on self-care support in six areas of frequent consultation, according to Rodríguez.

The role of pharmacists in health education

Despite the fact that pharmacists fulfill several roles to empower the population regarding their own health, there is a “decreasing the pharmacy workforce that has reduced availability.”

This is a stumbling block for the advancement of health education, as are “regulatory restrictions that may limit the ability of pharmacists to write prescriptions or initiate therapies for minor illnesses”, Rodriguez maintained.

ILAR highlighted that “There is great potential for health professionals, decision makers, the private sector and other interested parties to become more involved in the development of public health guidelines and policies that are truly focused on promoting the knowledge and capacities of individuals to make better health decisions”.

In the virtual event, experiences from different countries in the region were also exchanged on topics such as communication and promotion of self-care practices, the benefits and opportunities of electronic labeling in pharmaceutical products, and the importance of public-private collaboration for health education, among other issues highlighted by the panelists.

Source: EFE

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