The construction of self-help as a health promoting strategy

Modern welfare states like the Norwegian one, are now reorienting and withdrawal their support and welfare system. One change appearing in Norway is a focus on using self- help and self-help group as a health promotion strategy. Self-mastery and self- help groups as a health promoting strategy represent a fairly new strategy in the Norwegian context. However, self-help can be seen as being aligned with self-mastery and user involvement, which do have a long history. Patient organizations, next of kin organization, or organizations for people with disabilities have for years made claims for co-operation with public health care and welfare state services sector to legitimate users' experience and the knowledge and insight of users and patients. However, this work and user influence have not been recognized or been organized as self-help knowledge or self-help strategies, neither by the public or the organizations. This paper aim bringing knowledge and critical reflections about these issues, such as to what extend self-help groups and participants of self-care activities promote experience of sustainable and positive health experiences for people struggling with mental and psychological capacity or lower capacity due to chronic diseases or disabilities? The study is based on analysis of documentary sources of public documents referring to self- help as a health promoting strategy, using the approach of intertextuality and critically analysis what meaning making are brought to the concept of self-help as a health promotion strategy.