Asturias creates the Care School to promote citizen self-care

The Governing Council of the Principality of Asturias has approved Decree 56/2026, of August 10, which creates and regulates the Asturian School of Care and its Regional Coordinating Group. The regulation, promoted by the Department of Health, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 162, of August 21, 2026, within the General Provisions section, under code 2026-06993.

The decree, signed by President Adrián Barbón Rodríguez and the Minister of Health María Concepción Saavedra Rielo, will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the official gazette.

An instrument for health self-management

The Asturian School of Care is defined as the set of activities through which the Administration promotes participation, the exchange of knowledge, and health empowerment for patients, caregivers, health and social-health professionals, and the general public. Its purpose is to promote, coordinate, and share training content in Health Education and disease self-management programs to increase self-care capacity and co-responsibility over one’s own health process.

The regulation is supported by a broad legal and strategic framework:

• Article 11.2 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Principality of Asturias, which grants the community competence in health and hygiene.
• Law 14/1986, General Health Law, and Law 33/2011, General Public Health Law, regarding the health education of the population.
• Law of the Principality of Asturias 7/2019, on Health, and Law 2/2024, on Demographic Impulse, which in its article 37.9 promotes the School as an instrument for self-care.
• The Strategy for Addressing Chronicity of the National Health System (2012) and the Health Plan of the Principality of Asturias 2019-2030.

Objectives and target audience

The School seeks to develop actions that favor autonomy and self-care, involve citizens in the self-management of their health, and design care strategies for people with chronic or rare diseases and those in situations of fragility. Its activities will be carried out in family, school, and community environments, in in-person, blended, and distance learning modalities.

Activities may be directed toward:

• Citizens, with special attention to patients and caregivers.
• Health professionals and those in the social-health field.
• Other professionals with functions in the field of Health Education.

The Regional Coordinating Group

The decree creates the Regional Coordinating Group of the Asturian School of Care, a collegiate management body attached to the General Directorate of Care and Sociosanitary Coordination. Its functions include the direction and evaluation of activities, the development of educational materials, the detection of best practices, and the creation of technical working groups.

Its composition includes:

• Four representatives from the General Directorate competent in care, two of whom will serve as President and Secretary.
• Two people from the Care Directorate of the Central Services of the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA).
• One person from the Department competent in social rights.
• One care representative from each Health Area.
• One Primary Care professional and one Hospital Care professional for each Health Area.

The mandate of its members will be four years, and the body will meet in ordinary session at least four times a year. The regulation also modifies Decree 122/2025, regarding the organic structure of the Department of Health, to attach the Group to the General Directorate of Care.

A step toward healthcare co-responsibility

With this initiative, Asturias reinforces the role of citizens as active agents of their own health, in line with national strategies for chronicity and patient empowerment. The Asturian School of Care thus becomes a key tool to alleviate healthcare pressure and improve the quality of life for patients and caregivers within the Asturian public health system.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 162, of August 21, 2026, I. Principality of Asturias, General Provisions, Department of Health (official reference: 2026-06993).