Self-care ranges from managing a minor condition with pharmacy advice to protecting sleep, staying active, and spending on personal care. Recent figures show strong public interest in self-care, but confidence and access differ by condition, age, geography, and type of support.
Contents
- Self-care and healthcare demand
- Conditions people manage
- Pharmacists, medicines, and digital advice
- Age differences in self-care
- Sleep and everyday wellbeing
- Activity and self-rated health
- Wellness priorities and spending
Self-care and healthcare demand
The Self-Care Census 2024 describes a substantial role for self-care in the UK healthcare system. At least 25 million GP appointments each year are used for self-treatable illnesses, while at least 5 million A&E appointments are used for the same type of illness. These are annual estimates reported by the census, not a count of every healthcare appointment.
People also report frequent exposure to self-treatable conditions. More than two-thirds of adults experienced three or more self-treatable conditions in the last year, and 7% experienced more than 10. The figures indicate that self-care is not limited to occasional minor ailments; many adults encounter several conditions over a 12-month period.
Attitudes are consistent with that pattern. In the 2024 census, 78% of adults said they would choose self-care as their first option when considering healthcare. A further 77% agreed that people should take more responsibility for their own health to ease the burden on the NHS. However, 45% said their ability to access a GP appointment affected their decision to self-care, showing that personal preference and healthcare access can overlap.
Conditions people manage
The Self-Care Census 2024 measured whether adults had experienced specific conditions in the last year. The results cover a wide range of physical and reproductive health concerns:
- 52% had a common cold.
- 56% had a urinary tract infection (UTI), while 53% had an ear infection.
- 36% experienced menopause and 28% experienced erectile dysfunction.
- 28% experienced mild eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis.
- 27% experienced thrush.
- 20% experienced acne and 20% experienced conjunctivitis.
- 19% experienced sinusitis.
- 18% experienced ulcers.
- 17% experienced backache and 17% experienced earache.
These percentages describe the adults covered by the census and the preceding 12-month period. They should not be added together: one adult may have experienced several conditions, which is also reflected in the census finding that more than two-thirds had three or more self-treatable conditions.
Confidence varies sharply by condition. Only 4% of surveyed adults felt confident treating erectile dysfunction themselves, and only 8% felt confident self-caring for a UTI. Those results sit alongside the high reported occurrence of both conditions, suggesting that frequency does not automatically translate into confidence.
Pharmacists, medicines, and digital advice
Over-the-counter (OTC) treatment is a central part of reported self-care. The Self-Care Census 2024 found that 72% of adults had taken OTC medicines between one and 10 times in the last year to self-care. Among adults with a self-treatable condition who sought GP advice, 75% were directed to use OTC medicines, up from 58% in 2023.
Pharmacy support is also prominent. A GP or NHS 111 directed 32% of adults to consult a pharmacist about a self-treatable condition, up 8 percentage points year over year. Meanwhile, 76% of adults said they see their pharmacist as a trusted source of health information. Seventy-four percent wanted more medicines to be available from a pharmacy without a prescription.
The census also measured expectations about pharmacists’ access to health information. Seventy-three percent agreed pharmacists should be able to update medical records with advice or treatment recommendations, up from 65% in 2023. Sixteen percent said they would be more likely to consult a pharmacist first if pharmacists could fully access and update their medical records. A further 35% wanted to speak to their pharmacist by phone or video call.
Digital services are another common information route. Seventy percent of adults used the NHS website or app in the past 12 months to find information about a self-treatable condition. Of those who used NHS digital tools, 90% said they would use them again. Together, these figures show high reported use of both professional pharmacy advice and NHS digital information, while also pointing to demand for more connected records and remote conversations.
Age differences in self-care
Age is associated with different levels of confidence and preference. Adults over 65 were 12% more likely than adults aged 18–24 to agree that self-care is their first option. In the same census, 32% of adults aged 18–24 strongly agreed that they would treat themselves at home or seek pharmacy advice first, compared with 44% of adults over 65.
Older adults also reported strong access to information. Seventy-five percent of adults aged 65 and over said they have enough information on self-care treatments. The age comparison is therefore not simply a contrast between younger and older adults: it includes differences in first-choice behaviour, strong agreement, and perceived information sufficiency.
| Self-care measure | Adults aged 18–24 | Adults over 65 |
|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree they would treat themselves at home or seek pharmacy advice first | 32% | 44% |
| Relative likelihood of agreeing self-care is the first option | Reference group | 12% more likely than ages 18–24 |
| Say they have enough information on self-care treatments | Not supplied | 75% |
The figures do not establish why these age differences exist. They do show that a single national self-care message may be received differently across age groups, especially when advice, confidence, and preferred care settings are considered together.
Sleep and everyday wellbeing
The CDC National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2024 provides U.S. measures of sleep, an important everyday wellbeing behaviour. In 2024, 30.5% of U.S. adults had less than seven hours of sleep on average. Short sleep duration was reported by 30.6% of men and 30.4% of women.
The age and racial-group figures show additional variation. Short sleep duration affected 27.2% of adults aged 18–34 and 34.5% of adults aged 50–64. Among Black non-Hispanic adults, the figure was 40.2%. These are survey estimates for 2024 and should be read as group-specific measures rather than as a ranking of individual sleep quality.
The same CDC NHIS report found that 54.8% of U.S. adults woke up feeling well-rested most days or every day. The corresponding figures were 58.2% for men, 51.7% for women, and 63.5% for adults aged 65 and older.
Sleep difficulties were also measured directly. In 2024, 15.4% of U.S. adults had trouble falling asleep most days or every day, including 18.5% of women and 12.2% of men. Trouble staying asleep affected 18.1% of U.S. adults, with figures of 21.4% for women and 14.6% for men. The report also placed short sleep duration and trouble staying asleep side by side at 30.5% and 18.1%, respectively; these measures describe different sleep experiences and are not additive.
Activity and self-rated health
Health Survey NI 2023/24 measured self-rated health and activity among people in Northern Ireland. Among adults aged 16 and over, 69% rated their general health as very good or good. The age gap was wide: 86% of adults aged 16–24 gave one of those two ratings, compared with 48% of adults aged 75 and over.
The same survey found that 55% of adults aged 19 and over met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. This is a reported population measure for Northern Ireland in 2023/24, not a target that every individual necessarily reached.
| Northern Ireland measure | Reported share | Period or group |
|---|---|---|
| General health rated very good or good | 69% | Adults aged 16 and over, 2023/24 |
| General health rated very good or good | 86% | Adults aged 16–24, 2023/24 |
| General health rated very good or good | 48% | Adults aged 75+, 2023/24 |
| Met 150 minutes of moderate activity weekly | 55% | Adults aged 19 and over, 2023/24 |
The health-rating figures and the activity figure measure different aspects of wellbeing. Self-rated health is a personal assessment, while the activity statistic compares reported behaviour with a weekly threshold.
Wellness priorities and spending
McKinsey reported that the U.S. wellness market reached $480 billion in 2024 and was growing at 5% to 10% per year. The global consumer wellness market was estimated at $1.8 trillion in 2024. These are market estimates, and the growth range is not a forecast of an individual’s spending.
Wellness was also described as a consumer priority. Eighty-two percent of U.S. consumers said wellness was a top or important priority in everyday life, and 58% of U.S. respondents said they were prioritizing wellness more than a year earlier. The corresponding priority shares were 73% of U.K. consumers and 87% of China consumers.
Spending patterns provide a narrower view of self-care. Bank of America Institute reported that 75% of self-care-related spending in 2024 came from beauty categories and fitness clubs. Spending at fitness clubs accelerated 2.3% year over year in the last half of 2024, while spending at beauty salons and barbershops rose 1.2% year over year in December 2024. Euromonitor reported that 40% of consumers adopt a holistic beauty approach integrating self-care practices to enhance health.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey reported average U.S. consumer-unit expenditures of $78,535 in 2024 and average income before taxes of $104,207. There were 135.76 million consumer units. Personal care products and services averaged $978 per consumer unit, represented 1.2% of total annual household spending, and rose 2.9% from 2023 to 2024. Healthcare spending averaged $6,197 per consumer unit and represented 7.9% of total annual household spending.
These spending figures separate personal care from healthcare. They help show the scale of household outlays, but they do not establish that every personal care or wellness purchase was intended as medical self-care.