Despite being practiced for millennia, self-care is still underrated when it comes to improving our health and well-being. Yet, new interventions – in the form of drugs, diagnostics, devices, and digital solutions – are leading to a greater configuration of self-managed healthcare possibilities than ever before. In turn, these innovative tools are affording individuals more prevention, treatment, and care options, with or without the support of a provider. As the self-care movement grows, more people need a seat at the table to ensure that self-care interventions are accessible to all, and young people want in.
Beyond the face masks, green smoothies and the quest for physical fitness, young people are seeking greater autonomy and participation in their healthcare decisions.
We sat down with Ipsa Agnani, a representative for youth voices in the Self-Care Trailblazer Group (SCTG), a global multistakeholder coalition working to achieve the institutionalization of evidence-based self-care into national policy, programs, and funding. Since her nomination into the SCTG’s Coalition Steering Committee in 2022, Ipsa has been an advocate for self-care and youth engagement in the SCTG. Below she describes what self-care means to her and how this movement can bring young people into the conversation.
How do you define self-care? And in your opinion, why is self-care important for individuals and health systems?
To me, self-care is about one’s participation in their own overall wellbeing. It begins with understanding your physical, emotional, and psychological health needs and then having the tools at your fingertips to adequately address them. Well-established self-care practices are an integral piece of the person-powered care needed to improve community health and individual autonomy.
Self-care is a necessary complement to public health systems and strong community networks to promote healthy environments and achieve universal health coverage. Self-care is important because in an increasingly uncertain world with new challenges resulting from climate change and geopolitics, it is vital that we leverage and strengthen all tools available to help us remain safe and healthy.
What motivated you to become a self-care advocate?
I am a 26-year-old feminist and development practitioner from India. As a passionate advocate for meaningful youth engagement and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), I have worked with young people across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to advance youth advocacy.
Though I have been a lifelong youth advocate, my interest in self-care is more recent, rooted in my personal experience with mental healthcare over the last six years. While I was privileged to have access to professional help and education in managing my anxiety, I have also relied on self-care when those resources have not been easily available, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding my mental health needs and diligently expanding my self-care toolkit over the years has been a highly effective strategy to manage my anxiety and is the reason behind my appreciation for self-care.
I figured that if I had so much to gain from self-care, other young people do too.
How can self-care improve youth and adolescent health education and access to care?
Self-care can be a great starting point in learning to identify, understand, and articulate our health needs. By practicing self-care, young people can begin to observe what makes them feel healthy and identify practices and environmental factors that impact their health. If done well, the promotion of self-care among youth can also offer them alternatives to conventional health services that may be inaccessible or exclusive, particularly for marginalized youth who often experience barriers to care.
Self-care, when accessible and affordable, can be a powerful strategy to advance young people’s wellbeing. However, just as any other public health issue, many barriers prevent young people’s access to, and equitable participation in, self-care.
Young people are too often perceived as lacking agency over their bodies and minds. They are not trusted to make their own health decisions. Young people growing up in such contexts may struggle even to understand what self-care is and how they can integrate it into their own lives. If the most important decisions are taken on their behalf, and they cannot independently choose how, with whom, and where they spend their time, they may not be able to develop sustainable self-care practices or even have the language for it.
What have you gained from being part of the Self-Care Trailblazer Group (SCTG)?
Being a part of the SCTG Steering Committee has been an incredible learning opportunity. Meeting with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and in various parts of the world allows me a glimpse into how self-care is perceived by academics, development professionals, public health experts, or universal health coverage advocates. It is an immense privilege to engage in conversations where we co-define what self-care means and how best to continue carrying out our advocacy efforts in the hope of making healthcare more accessible and inclusive everywhere.
I also gained incredible insight into what it takes to develop and propel a movement. As an aspiring policymaker, it is interesting to learn about the institutional frameworks required to undertake such transformative work and how to bring young people into the conversation.
While the self-care movement has historically centered on adults, we are working towards a future where people of all ages have the power to manage their own health. With health challenges that youth around the world are facing, I am hopeful and committed to building a future where young people have access to self-care practices to improve their health, wellbeing, and lives.
Ipsa is currently studying Public Administration at the London School of Economics and Political Science and continues to advocate for young people’s right to health.
Want to learn more about the role of self-care and the promise it holds in addressing the health needs of adolescents and young people? Click here to read more insights from youth advocates.
