Lay care in illness.

This paper discusses lay care in illness with special reference to research and development in Northern Europe. The discussion concentrates on two components of lay care: individual self-care in illness and self-help groups. Individual self-care in illness is shaped in social environments, and in turn is a major determinant of the type and amount of health care services used. Self-help groups of all kinds have increased in recent years. Groups 'next' to the system and groups opposed to the system increased rapidly during the seventies. A form of self-help group that interfaces more directly with services is now being encouraged by physicians. Major issues concerned with these developments are considered.