The aging population and the increasingly high price of innovative drugs have brought unbearable pressure to many medical systems. Under such circumstances, disease prevention and self-health management have become increasingly important, and have been paid attention to even before the outbreak of COVID-19. More and more evidence shows that the outbreak of COVID-19 has accelerated the development of self-care trend. The World Health Organization (who) defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent diseases, maintain health and cope with diseases and disabilities, regardless of whether there is support from health care providers”. A survey conducted in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in the summer of 2020 showed that 65% of people were more inclined to consider their own health factors in daily decision-making, and as many as 80% would take self-care to reduce the pressure on the medical system.
More and more consumers begin to have health awareness, and the field of self-care is affected. First, people with relatively low initial level of health awareness are more and more eager to receive relevant education. Such education is more likely to come from pharmacists or from the Internet, because consumers often think that these information sources are more trustworthy. The role of consumer health care products companies will also become more and more important, especially in disease management education unrelated to the brand and the use and communication of their own brands. However, in order to prevent consumers from getting too much information or information confusion and errors, relevant enterprises should strengthen cooperation with government agencies, pharmacists and other industry participants – coordination in COVID-19 prevention and control can be better.
Secondly, the market segment of nutritional products is expected to continue to grow, such as vitamins and dietary supplements (VDS), especially those products that can help improve immunity. According to a Euromonitor survey in 2020, a considerable proportion of respondents claimed that taking vitamins and dietary supplements was to promote the health of the immune system (not for beauty, skin health or relaxation). The total sales of over-the-counter drugs may also continue to rise. After the outbreak of COVID-19, many European consumers also plan to reserve over-the-counter drugs (OTC).
Finally, the improvement of self-care consciousness also promotes consumers’ acceptance of family diagnosis.
Post time:Sep-20-2022