Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – Health education, prevention, and informed daily choices contribute to building, at different stages of life, the conditions for maintaining independence and quality of life over the years. Promoting people's ability to care for their own health, from childhood to old age, can contribute to improving individual well-being and supporting a more appropriate use of healthcare resources.
Healthy aging begins long before old age: in childhood, with the development of healthy habits, and in adulthood, through prevention and the ability to make informed choices. Supporting this journey means recognizing diverse needs, including those of caregivers, and offering support that adapts to individuals throughout their lives.
This is how Marco Dorigo, General Manager Southern Europe and Italy at Haleon, summarized the content shared at the CEOforLIFE roundtable 'Self-care, Active Aging and new paradigms of health and well-being', which took place in Rome in recent weeks.
An essential condition is health literacy, that is, the ability to understand and use health information to make informed decisions.
"According to Phase 3 of the Global Health Inclusivity Index, conducted by Economist Impact and supported by Haleon, in Italy," Dorigo continues, "annual healthcare expenditures for a person with low health literacy levels are €3.902, compared to €1.406 for a person with a high level: almost three times as much. This data highlights the importance of health literacy, even in the debate on the sustainability of the system." Self-care, which includes behaviors and tools for promoting and maintaining health, also includes responsible self-medication. "The appropriate management of mild and self-manageable conditions, accompanied by the advice of a pharmacist, can help reduce inappropriate use of healthcare services, preserving access to care for more complex needs," emphasizes Haleon's General Manager. "Empowering people doesn't mean leaving them alone or shifting the responsibilities of the health service onto them; it means empowering them to make the right choice at the right time. Pharmacists, because of their closeness to citizens, are a fundamental point of reference: they help with orientation, support appropriate self-medication, and indicate when it is necessary to consult a doctor."
For this model to be accessible, it's necessary to consider the economic, informational, cultural, and territorial barriers that can hinder health choices. Even a daily aspect like oral health demonstrates the importance of consistent habits and professional support, from children learning to care for their mouths to the elderly person requiring assistance. "In this process," Dorigo concludes, "Haleon identifies a responsibility for companies that goes beyond the product and includes information, health education, and collaboration with professionals, institutions, and associations. We want to contribute to a more accessible and inclusive culture of health, sharing our knowledge of people's daily needs. Self-care can be part of the answer to the sustainability of the healthcare system if it is based on concrete collaboration and keeps appropriate access to care at its core."
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