The Self-Care Matrix: a unifying framework for self-care

Abstract

background There is resurgent interest in the concept and practice of self-care as a means to improve the health, wellness and wellbeing of individuals, and as an avenue to mitigate financial pressures and growing demands on health and social care systems worldwide. An ongoing challenge has been the lack of clarity on the specific nature and entire scope of self-care, coupled to a lack of a universal or widely accepted framework that could support the conceptualisation and study of self-care in its totality, in all settings and from different perspectives. objectives To advance a comprehensive yet pragmatic and widely accessible framework to support the conceptualisation of self-care in its totality, in order to facilitate the development, commissioning, evaluation and study of self-care initiatives across a variety of settings. Method and framework development A pragmatic review of the academic and lay literature was undertaken to identify extant theories and conceptual models of self-care. Following a content analysis, the models were characterised, and a configuration matrix was constructed to illustrate the key components and main themes of each model. These themes were organised into a number of domains which were grouped together into cardinal dimensions of self-care. The dimensions of self-care were consolidated in an inclusive framework and visually depicted on a schema to illustrate their inter-relationship. results We identified a total of 32 candidate models, theories and frameworks of self-care. Characterising these models led to the identification of various themes and domains. These were found to naturally group into four cardinal dimensions of self-care: (1) Activities, (2) Behaviours, (3) Context, and (4) Environment. A new model was synthesised to illustrate the relationship between each dimension on a configuration matrix resulting in the creation of the Self-Care Matrix (SCM). conclusion The Self-Care Matrix (SCM) is a useful framework that can be used to conceptualise and frame the totality of self-care and its various interlinked elements. SCM is intended for use by all stakeholders who are interested in the study, development, commissioning and evaluation of self-care initiatives.