Module 3Self care - doing it for

ourselves

Self Care Training

On completion of this module learners will:

Understand how the current care worker role can limita person’s opportunities to self care

Understand what self care is and how we all make decisions about our health and well-being

Demonstrate how a change in thinking can support individuals’ self care

Module 3 outcomes

Your current role as a care worker means that you:

Follow tasks on the care plan Often will ‘do for’ the individuals you support Have little time to ask people ‘what do you want?’ Have little opportunity to try new things with the people

you support

And... social and emotional needs are not always seen

as a priority!

Your current role

I can’t do it if it is not on

the care plan

If I don’t do it then what

will I do?

I must just complete

tasks when I visit

I can’t get involved

in planning!

This develops your ‘habit centres’

Traditional habit centres can put you in control of ‘just doing for’ individuals

This can focus you on tasks and limit individuals’ self determination to try new things for themselves

Little chance for individuals to self care!

Care Workers

Individuals

Traditional habit centres – the effects

“…the individual taking responsibility for their own health and well-being”

(Source- ‘Common Core Principles to Support Self Care - a guide to implementation’- Skills for Care/Skills for Health 2008)

What is self care?

Health

Well-being

Our health can be thought of as the choices we make to look after our:•Bodies•Minds•Social Lives

If we develop bad habits and don't look after our health then our well-being (how we feel) may be affected.

Health and well-being is…?

What steps do you take to look after your health and

well-being?

Group discussion

It is important that throughout our lives we balance our healthand well-being so we can be free from disease and emotionaldistressWe can do this by:• Eating well – Gives us the nutrients we need to stay healthy, control

or reduce body weight and help us feel better about ourselves.• Living active lives – Can increase our energy levels, reduce the risk

of getting ill and help us feel better about ourselves• Managing our feelings – Feeling positive about ourselves and our

lives can often motivate us to better care for our health

• Taking control over our environments – Having enough money, a comfortable place to live and good support networks can help us feel

better about ourselves and motivate us to care for our health.

Balancing health and well-being

As Babies – Our parents encourage, supervise and support our self care skills• Holding onto a bottle, eating small foods, taking part in bathing and dressingAs Toddlers – We have built our confidence and want to learn to do more for ourselves• Brushing our teeth, hair, and dressing ourselvesAs Young Children – We have the skills and knowledge to self care without always having to ask.• We look at the detail – small buttons, shoe laces, letters and numbersAs Young Adults – We want to ‘look after ourselves’ and not be ‘looked after’ • We want to be self sufficient, paying rent, cooking, running a car, having our own social relationships

How we are taught to self care

As we get older the natural effects of ageing take hold:

As we get older and our bodies change, we may lose the confidence we had to self care – for some this means using the support of ‘traditional’ care workers

This can lead to ‘they need us’ thinking

However – no matter our age or disability, we all have theAbility to self care!

7.1

As older individuals

Self care support is a new way of working, it is about:

New types of workers supporting individuals to be motivated and confident to become more involved in their lives

New types of workers supporting individuals to do more for themselves

New types of workers supporting individuals to take more responsibility for the self care of their health and well-being

7.1

Your new habit centres – self care support

The Self Care Principles• Principle 1 Ensure individuals are able to make informed choices to

manage their self care needs• Principle 2 Communicate effectively to enable individuals to assess

their needs, and develop and gain confidence to self care• Principle 3 Support and enable individuals to access appropriate

information to manage their self care needs• Principle 4 Support and enable individuals to develop skills in self care• Principle 5 Support and enable individuals to use technology to

support self care• Principle 6 Advise individuals how to access support networks and

participate in the planning, development and evaluation of services• Principle 7 Support and enable risk management and risk taking to

maximise independence and choice

(Source: The Common Core Principles to Support Self Care-A Guide to Support Implementation 2008)

Are people interested in self care?

A Department of Health MORI Survey 2005 includes statistics fromface to face interviews with the general public (England):

• More than 95% said they were interested in living a healthy lifestyle

• More than 87% of those with a long term condition said they were interested in playing a greater role in the self care of their conditions.

• More than 50% who had seen a care professional in the previous six months said they had not often been encouraged to self care

• More that 75% said that if there had been guidance or support from a professional or peer they would feel more confident about taking care of their own health

7.1

Are people interested in self care?

Individuals’ own attitudes and behaviours

• People have become used to having care ‘done to them’• Rarely will they plan or set new goals to self care• They also focus on completing ‘tasks’

Over time this can lead to them lacking the confidence to try new things and to accept self care support.

What is stopping us supporting self care?

Care workers’ attitudes and behaviours

Care workers are used to following a list of tasks on the care plan This can create a “I’ll just…” effect They don’t involve the person in planning and setting new goals to achieve

self care They worry that if individuals self care – there will be nothing for them to do

7.1

What is stopping us supporting self care?

Changing your thinking is not easy Repeating a task over and over again means we

can end up doing it without really having to think about it

Care workers tend to think they have to ‘do things for’ the person and not always involve them

This pattern of thinking does not support individuals to be involved and to self care

How do we change this way of thinking?

Changing your thinking

Identify what you don’t want to do anymore “I don’t want to just ‘do for’ the individuals I support

anymore” Identify new ways of doing things

“I want to involve individuals so they can eventually regain the skills to do things on their own to self care!”

Practise your new habits “I have always worked in the old way, so it is ok, if it takes some time – But I will keep practising”

Your new habits will eventually become automatic!

Remember your new habits

Allow you to work with each individual person and involve them in their activities

Balance the control, and support the individuals to make new choices about how they receive their support.

Promote self care! Make your role more interesting!

New type of workers

Individuals

Your new habit centres will…

1. Build ‘person-centred partnerships’2. Understand the ‘labels’ and

‘symptoms’ of long term conditions3. Use the ICE tool to gather

information4. Set goals and overcome challenges5. Signpost people to other services6. Uphold choices by reducing risk7. Learn about assistive technologies

to support self care

How are we going to make self care support happen?

Self Care Training Manual: Implementing the Common Core principles for Self Care© Skills for Care, 2009.www.skillsforcare.org.uk Albion Court, 5 Albion Place, Leeds LS1 6JL.All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced for non-commercial distribution in aid of social care workforce development, provided the copyright notices and acknowledgements are included in each reproduction.Requests for commercial publishing rights should be directed to Skills for Care.

Referencing:Short reference: Skills for Care, 2009Long reference: Skills for Care, Self Care Training Manual: Implementing the Common Core Principles for Self Care (Skills for Care, Leeds, 2009)

Acknowledgements:This material was commissioned from jdee Training and Lancashire County Council by Skills for Care’s New Types of Worker programme in the north west. It was researched and compiled by Shaun Douglas Galley and Sarah Johnson.