WHO consolidated guideline on self-care interventions for health

sexual and reproductive health and rights

in English, 180 pages,
World Health Organization, 2019
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This new publication by the World Health Organization on self-care can be summarised via four key messages published in the BMJ earlier this year:

– Self-care interventions increase choice, accessibility, and affordability, as well as opportunities for individuals to make informed decisions regarding their health and healthcare
– Self-care interventions may also exacerbate inequalities and therefore need to be monitored and, where appropriate, linked with health systems
– Self-care can be thought of using two complementary frames: people-centred and system-centred.
– Normative guidance will be essential to redraw the boundaries of a stronger healthcare system that includes self-care.

The section on self-care with medical abortion pills is taken from the 2015 publication called Health worker roles in providing safe abortion care and post-abortion contraception and covers self-management of the medical abortion process in the first trimester. There are 4 recommendations, and two additional notes are offered from the 2018 WHO publication Medical management of abortion.