Trust, Innovation And Growth – Three Priorities For The Global Self-Care Industry In 2021
Executive Summary
The Global Self-Care Federation is looking to consolidate the shift towards self-care seen during the pandemic by promoting trust, innovation and growth in policy. An upcoming webinar hosted by the GSCF will also explore the theme of "Advancing Trust in the Self-Care Industry."
The Global Self-Care Federation has set out its priorities for 2021, with a focus on deepening a shift towards self-care seen during the pandemic.
“Recognizing the unique value of self-care amidst the pandemic, we will be looking to translate this recognition into policies that promote trust, innovation and growth in self-care,” GSCF director general, Judy Stenmark, told HBW Insight.
“As a Federation, we will be leveraging key learnings and positive stories on the self-care industry’s contributions to the pandemic management and response, building on current engagement to interact with a wider set of stakeholders and influencers,” she added.
Advancing Trust Webinar
"Advancing trust in the self-care industry" is the theme of an upcoming webinar hosted by the Global Self-Care Federation. The event - to be held on Wednesday 20 January at 12.30pm GMT - will explore challenges and opportunities for building trust in a post-pandemic world.
Speakers include GSCF's Judy Stenmark, J&J Consumer Health's Self-Care global president, Manoj Raghunandanan, IBM's Chris Moose and Echo Research CEO Sandra Macleod. HBW Insight's David Ridley is also on the panel, and will look back at some of the trust issues the consumer health industry has faced over the past 12 months.
For more information on the webinar and to sign up click here.
Heading up GSCF’s 2021 strategy will be new chair, Heiko Schipper – president of Bayer AG’s Consumer Health division – who replaced Alan Main in October. (Also see "People On The Move: Appointments At RB, GSCF And CMDh" - HBW Insight, 26 Oct, 2020.)
Reflecting on his own priorities as GSCF chair in a recent interview with HBW Insight, Schipper also pointed to the importance of communicating consumer healthcare’s scientific credentials, as well as championing the practical role that self-care has played and continues to play in alleviating the immense pressure on national health care systems during the pandemic. (Also see "Accelerating The Global Self-Care Agenda: Q&A With GSCF Chair, Bayer CH Head Heiko Schipper" - HBW Insight, 24 Nov, 2020.)
GSCF will continue to work closely with the World Health Organisation, Stenmark said, launching this year a “Self-Care Readiness Index” that will assess selected health systems based on four self-care “critical enablers”: stakeholder support and adoption, consumer and patient empowerment, self-care health policy, and regulatory.
“The Index will be a unique and compelling advocacy tool,” Stenmark explained. “It aims to identify and discuss these critical enablers for 'self-care readiness' in a health system and will offer a measure of selected national systems, highlighting both progress and opportunities for improvement.”
In terms of increasing the level of trust in self-care, GSCF will build on the findings of the global Trust Audit, Stenmark continued.
“The findings show that regulation is the main differentiator driving varying levels of trust across regions,” she said. “Improving policy and regulation going forward will be vital to strengthen the perception of the industry and will allow for the correct structures to be put in place to enable people to make the right decisions.”
GSCF will also be promoting its new “Code of Ethics,” which Stenmark said will provide a framework for the Federation in the coming years, and will hopefully be recognised as best practice across the self-care industry.
“Throughout 2021 and beyond we will continue to uphold the principles outlined, by engaging with consumers in an ethical manner, collaborating with key stakeholders to advance the practice of responsible self-care and self-medication, cooperating with regulatory agencies to ensure health and well-being of individuals, and of course maintaining overall ethical business practices,” she concluded.