User:Jamie Linnea/sandbox

Self-care, also referred to as self-management, is “what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, prevent and deal with illness”. Self-care has been around as long as mankind, but is commonly used in reference to management of noncommunicable diseases, especially chronic conditions. The American Heart Association defines self-care as “a naturalistic decision‐making process addressing both the prevention and management of chronic illness, with core elements of self‐care maintenance, self‐care monitoring, and self‐care management”. Self-care may be supported by a healthcare professional or practiced by one’s own initiative. Self-care behaviors generally overlap with health promotion behaviors and has gained popularity as a health promotion intervention in fields such as cardiology, diabetes , and mental health. The exact meaning of self-care varies between cultures but generally includes three “defining attributes”: readiness, ability, and activity/practice”.

Consequences/outcomes of self-care Consequences of patients practicing self-care according to literature include: a health status and well-being improvement, improved symptom management, cost reduction for the healthcare system, and personal development-related outcomes.

Self-tracking and self-monitoring Self-care commonly entails self-tracking/self-monitoring signs, symptoms, and/or medication intake. Technology is a common tool used to aid self-tracking, such as mobile apps that allow symptoms tracking and reflection as well as wearables such as smart watches that gather data on step count, heart rate and sleep.