The London Self-Care Summit: pioneering thought leadership to clarify the key research & development priorities for self-care

The London Self-Care, Health and Wellbeing Summit was held on 14 & 15 September 2023 at Imperial College London’s prestigious South Kensington Campus. The Summit was hosted by Dr Austen El-Osta of the Self-Care Academic Research Unit (SCARU) at Imperial College London School of Public Health. This thought leadership event was made possible through the generous support of a grant from the Worldwide Universities Network awarded to Distinguished Professor Jon Adams of the School of Public Health at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

This dynamic one-and-a-half-day event brought together 18 thought leaders from across the world to examine and debate the intricate landscape of self-care research with a focus on implications for self-care policy and practice. The Summit helped clarify the urgent research and development priorities for self-care, focusing on how self-care could be leveraged to prevent and respond to chronic disease as well as maintaining health and wellbeing over the life course.

Pictured above, from left to right: Professor Nikos Ntoumanis (Southern Denmark University), Dr Emma Teasdale (University of Southampton), Distinguished Professor Jon Adams (University of Technology Sydney), Dr Suebsarn Ruksakulpiwat (Mahidol University, Thailand), Dr Pete Smith (Self-Care Forum), Professor Vincent Chung (Chinese University of Hong Kong), David Skinner (International Self-Care Foundation), Andy Riley (Personalised Care Institute & Royal College of General Practitioners), Dr Manjulaa Narasimhan (World Health Organization), Goncalo Sousa Pinto (International Pharmaceutical Federation), Dr Austen El-Osta (Imperial College London), Professor Marcelo Demarzo (Federal University of Sao Paulo), Professor Jan Hartvigsen (Southern Denmark University), Catherine Laverty (Global Self-Care Federation), Dr Alexander Mafi (British Medical Journal), Professor Greg Kawchuk (University of Alberta), Professor Felicity Bishop (University of Southampton).

Professor Jon Adams, in his opening address, succinctly laid out the objectives of the Summit, and this was followed by ‘A Brief History of Self-Care’ keynote address by Dr Austen El-Osta. Distinguished participants in the roundtable discussions included representatives from leading organizations including the International Self-Care Foundation, the Self-Care Forum UK, the Global Self-Care Federation, the World Health Organisation, the International Pharmaceutical Federation, the Personalised Care Institute, the Royal College of General Practitioners, Innovate UK and the British Medical Journal. Leading academics from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Kingdom also contributed their insights and expertise.

Summit discussions focused on a range of topics central to the overarching theme of self-care, health and wellbeing including self-care conceptualisation, measurement and evaluation, and mechanisms to help democratise access to self-care interventions, products and services. The summit delegates also considered how self-care could be leveraged to tackle the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases and explored the important role of healthcare practitioners, health systems and policymakers in promoting self-care for public and patient benefit.

The overarching purpose of this event was to foster thought leadership concerning the profound impact of self-care on the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. The proceedings of the Summit will be published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), and plans are already in progress to establish the International Academy for Self-Care Research (IASCR) – a joint venture between key academic institutions and open to all researchers with a commitment to the rigorous, transdisciplinary examination of self-care.