For help and inspiration for your own self-care strategies, initiatives and events, here is a series of exemplary self-care case studies that you can learn from to help empower your population.
Many of the case studies on this page are the winners, commended or shortlisted entries from our annual Self-Care Awards and judged by individuals with years of experience and knowledge in the health and public health sector.
Do consider applying for our Awards if you too are doing something inspirational to empower people in taking care of their health and wellbeing. Go to our awards page or get in touch for more information. Email selfcare@selfcareforum.org.
Circus for Survivors - True You Today CIC
Before COVID, two women a week in the UK were killed by their partners or former partners. According to the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University removing survivors from their abusers is just the first step; holistic services are also necessary. With this in mind, True You Today CIC developed an initiative which empowers survivors to rebuild their relationship with their bodies and express themselves creatively, offering long-term support beyond initial crisis intervention.
This programme won the 2024 Self-Care Award
Black men talk health, Nilaari Agency
Nilaari Agency specialises in providing mental health support to local Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities in the UK, emphasising the importance of self-care. Creating an online safe space empowering Black men in the UK to prioritise their self-care and well-being.
This was highly commended in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
Mental health work in schools - Headucate UK
Headucate UK is a national charity supporting mental health advocacy and awareness by university students across the UK. It delivers mental health literacy workshops in schools to tackle misconceptions and promote self-care and wellbeing strategies.
This was shortlisted in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
Initiation patient self-management team, Locala H+W CIC
Initiation of a Patient Self-Management Team, led by registered nurses but mostly delivered by un-registered colleagues, helped empower patients to take charge of their health by promoting self-care in daily life using behavioural change models.
This was highly commended in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
Menopause (advocacy, awareness, education, support), Action Menopause Warwickshire
Action Menopause Warwickshire is a community care initiative providing practical support, advice, and education to help women understand the impact of perimenopause and menopause, introducing self-care methods that enable them to live well during this time.
This was shortlisted in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
CAKE- a perfect recipe for well-being, LUS and Wellbeing, Culture and Development team, NHS Grampian
This initiative focuses on the development, testing, and implementation of a self-care and well-being resource, rolled out in teams across NHS Grampian. Co-designed and pilot tested with healthcare professionals, CAKE comprises 8 slices and uses storytelling to share experiences, raise awareness of previously unspoken issues, collaboratively identify actions, thus creating a healthy environment.
This was shortlisted in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
Grab a cuppa, Eczema Outreach Support
Eczema Outreach Support (EOS) is dedicated to helping children and young people with eczema and their families. Its “Grab a Cuppa” sessions, provide a space for families to connect and share their experiences.
This was shortlisted in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
Living Mindfully Patient Group, Central Bournemouth PCN
The self-management team began a support group to help patients with mindfulness, focusing on coping skills, breathwork, grounding, and gratitude. They organised logistics, marketed the group, and invited suitable patients identified by colleagues and through Systm1 coding. The team developed a 6-month plan covering various topics and effective mindfulness activities, providing information sheets to enhance the well-being of attendees.
This was shortlisted in the 2024 Self-Care Award.
WellAware Health and Wellbeing IAG Network
A Bristol-based charity, The Care Forum helps to support health and wellbeing through this wide-ranging social prescription and information programme which engages and empowers people. It is a valuable resource for the public, for carers and relatives and for health and social care professionals. It supports people who are digitally excluded, whilst the service is also accessible to marginalised and minority groups.
This programme won the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards
Group lifestyle clinics and fitness club
Using the power harnessed from facilitated group settings, The Lifestyle Clinic encourages patients to become more self-care aware in making positive lifestyle changes. Delivered by 8 practices from Leamington Primary Care Network, The Lifestyle Clinic helps patients think about why and how they might make positive changes to their life through a series of weekly sessions which focus on 4 self-care areas: links between health and happiness, food and nutrition, behaviour change, and community and physical activity.
This programme was highly commended as part of the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Fedcap’s Health and Wellbeing Service
The benefits of work on the health of individuals is well known, but there are large numbers of people who do not feel able to work because of ill health. Employability provider Fedcap is helping to address this through a health and wellbeing service with a “Work First, Health Enabler” approach. Using evidence-based interventions, Fedcap supports people to overcome health barriers by equipping them with strategies to help them manage their condition. Fedcap’s programme has helped 1000s of people with self-care techniques.
This programme was highly commended as part of the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Don't Dismiss Young People with Eczema
The charity, Eczema Outreach Support wanted to make sure young people felt empowered, confident and knowledgeable in self-managing their condition. The charity set up an energetic Young Persons Panel to ensure that resources and services were co-produced and relevant.
This was shortlisted in the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Self-care advice for cancer patients
University College London Hospitals Macmillan Support and Information Service (UCLH MSIS) set up an initiative to support people going through chemotherapy to self-manage and self-care. Providing a host of resources and ensuring the service is equitable by supporting people with additional needs.
This was shortlisted in the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Personalised Care Plans in Community Nursing
Community nursing teams in Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust promoted independence using Personalised Care Plans, supporting and educating patients to self-care as well as using shared-care techniques.
This was shortlisted in the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
M.E.E.T (Men, Exercise, Engage, Talk)
Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity set up M.E.E.T. to address social exclusion and give men the opportunity to regularly meet up and share experiences and support one another.
This was shortlisted in the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
C-Section Recovery Manual (Your Body Your Recovery)
Co-produced by 2 experienced midwives this resources aims to support women who birth by caesarean section to understand the facts to feel empowered and confident to self-manage their recovery.
This was shortlisted in the 2023 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Primary care and social care empowering people through healthy group sessions
The Healthy Groups programme, developed by a cross-disciplinary team in primary care and social care working collaboratively across South Northamptonshire and North Oxfordshire delivered 31 healthy group clinics for patients with complex long term conditions from 9 practices across the region.
This programme won the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
The Power of Self Care: The NHS and Beyond
Cirencester based Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) held a highly collaborative day-long event with more than 30 local support services and organisations helping to engage, educate and empower local people to understand their physical health and mental wellbeing and in doing so adopt a “self care for life” approach.
This initiative was highly commended in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
UTime Staff Wellbeing Initiative
Dorset charity, Help and Care implemented a simple initiative which allows overwhelmed, ‘time-poor’ staff to plan time for self-care, helping with resilience and to lead by example. Self-care could help many people with long term health conditions, but it’s deemed by many as a luxury item. Modern society often praises ‘busyness’ not ‘wellbeing;’ this initiative starts to redress this unhelpful balance across its Dorset-wide client base too.
This initiative was was highly commended in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Digital Behaviour Change
Kingston Council’s Public Health Team implemented a targeted digital behaviour campaign across the region using advanced digital marketing practices, behaviour change methodology and local service/community knowledge to encourage self care behaviour. Focusing on targeted strands across 5 areas: 1) Over 50’s; 2) drive uptake of new weight management services amongst men; 3) signpost to Connected Kingston 4) vaccination promotion and 5) campaigns for younger residents.
This initiative was highly commended in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Self-Care Toolkits
North Yorkshire Library Service devised a Self-Care Toolkit, which is a portable collection of items, books and activities designed to encourage young people (11+) to practise self-care and enhance mental wellbeing. 50 kits are available for borrowing from 42 libraries across the region for use either by individuals or groups of people at home, in the library setting or in the community. This is a highly replicable initiative which supports young people’s self-care knowledge and understanding.
This initiative was shortlisted in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Self-care advice for cancer patients
Keighley Healthy Living (KHL), through GP referrals, identified people living with musculoskeletal conditions and chronic pain. Working closely with them to understand their abilities and wishes, KHL signposted people into a broad range of physical activity options, from very gentle to more condition-specific that met their needs and that supported their ability to self-care and better manage their conditions.
This initiative was shortlisted in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Health Eating and Exercise Programme
Heaton Road GP Surgery in Newcastle used a basic NHS 12 week printed guide which focussed on exercise and healthy eating tips to empower people with face to face interactive sessions during a 12 week programme. Each week had a different focus such as fibre, exercise, the importance of breakfast, food cravings and snacking, drink etc. As well as encouraging a healthy lifestyle, the sessions helped participants with social isolation, confidence and friendship building.
This initiative was shortlisted in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Self-care advice for cancer patients
To address Warrington Borough Council’s employee absenteeism, it’s Human Resources Department implemented an Employee Support Service to support employees to maintain or improve their health and wellbeing. Devising resources and programmes which focused on relaxation, mindfulness, peer support and other initiatives to help empower people in their physical and mental wellbeing at work.
This initiative was shortlisted in the 2022 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Orthopaedic Research UK’s (ORUK) Enabling Self-management and Coping with Arthritic Pain using Exercise, ESCAPE-pain is an outstanding programme integrating information, advice and exercise. It helps people understand their problem, dispels erroneous health beliefs, advises them what (not) to do and allows them to experience the benefits of exercise.
This programme won the 2021 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Let's Get Steady - Falls Prevention Programme
Guildford and Waverley Integrated Care Partnership (NHS Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group) adapted their face-to-face falls prevention programme into a Let’s get steady DVD to increase their uptake of the programme and support local residents who were shielding, helping them to avoid a fall and stay independent.
This was highly commended in the 2021 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Keeping Bromley Well! A Self Care Week Initiative
Bromley Third Sector Enterprise (BTSE) and Bromley Well sought to bring its borough together online, with Self Care Week the catalyst. Uniting isolated individuals and supporting home-based staff, helping the community to understand the importance of self care, not just for a week but throughout life.
Shortlisted in the 2021 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Being Virtually Brilliant
This programme was run by the Workshop Team at Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance who upskilled health professionals to deliver remote health and wellbeing workshops. This helped to support cancer patients to use technology to remain in contact with clinical staff.
Shortlisted in the 2021 Self Care Innovation Awards.
Sutton Women’s Centre won the Self Care Forum’s Self Care Innovation Award in 2020. It shone through for its incredible empowerment of vulnerable families during lockdown. As well as providing a safe haven, the Centre’s Freedom Programme gives women who have experienced, or are experiencing domestic abuse vital tools to reach their full potential and lift themselves out of their challenging situations.
2020's Self Care Innovation Award Case Studies
In 2020 when the COVID19 pandemic struck, so many organisations came together to support people in their local communities. Whether it was to ensure people had food, prescriptions, support or to quickly make structural or administrative changes during lockdown, so much innovation and inspiration was implemented, deserving of recognition and in some cases, replication!