Self-care, public health messages, and moral responsibility during a world health emergency – the patient’s perspective

Noirin O’Neill’s blog

As a patient and survivor of a life-threatening, hemorrhagic type of leukemia in 2004 on the age of 30, I care deeply about patient involvement, empowerment and self-care. I do know that self-care will help me, as a patient, live higher within the face of my condition, and this in turn might help the NHS to operate more sustainably.

We all know that when patients take control of their health with the support of their healthcare team, they are going to feel stronger. It’s about working together to make the changes that may improve their health. Self-help apps are designed to assist us solve our problems and alter our behavior, but they also can make us indignant, frustrated and feel defeated. The coronavirus epidemic has taught us that our future doesn’t lie within the hands of algorithms and completely automated processes. It also took self-care to an entire latest realm. Public health messages give attention to the person health message to “take care of your health and protect others.” (WHO, 2020).

This concept will not be latest to me. As a leukemia patient, I used to be isolated persistently attributable to various infections within the hospital, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is now haunting me again. Visits from family and friends were strictly limited, everyone was required to clean their hands rigorously, and towels or fans weren’t allowed to enter the hematology ward attributable to the danger of infection. Nurses and doctors often wore masks and gowns when administering chemotherapy and medications to guard themselves and other patients from infection.

However, one critic of the WHO Covid 19 campaign message expressed the opinion that public health messages that give attention to the person don’t work. It has been suggested that when a health message is framed in such a way that folks should consider their moral responsibility and may do specific things that we are able to all do for one another, it’s more prone to be effective.

Join us on Wednesday using the hashtag #EBNJC.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for UK employers. Available o https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law/health-safety/coronavirus-factsheet

Coronavirus (COVID-19. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Covid-19: Individual-focused health messaging ‘doesn’t work’ Available at: https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0311/1121620-coronavirus-psychology/

World Health ORganisation. Available o https://www.who.int/

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