Company
About Expert Self Care
We believe trusted health information should be in everyone's hands.
Expert Self Care is a small, independent company on a big mission: to make it easier for people to take control of their health and wellbeing — with trusted, free information apps tailored to real-life needs.
Founded in 2012 by Dr Knut Schroeder, a UK GP with over 30 years in the NHS and higher education, Expert Self Care started with a simple idea: that mobile technology could help solve a public health problem.
Knut saw too many smart, capable people struggling to understand symptoms, find support, or feel confident about self-care — especially in a crisis. So he set out to change that.
What began as one student-focused app has grown into a growing library of award-winning, evidence-based tools for people often left out of the health conversation.
What we do
We create trusted, user-friendly mobile apps that:
- Help people make better health decisions
- Reduce unnecessary pressure on services
- Support groups who are often underserved
Each app is designed with — not just for — its audience, co-created with lived experience experts, health professionals and trusted partners.
Who we support
Our library of apps enables health and care providers to serve high-priority groups, including:
- People who self-harm or feel suicidal
- People with eating disorders
- Students with mental health issues
- International students
- Young carers
- People with bladder or bowel leakage
- People living with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
We continue to expand our range of apps to groups that need more support.
Our vision
A world where everyone can freely access reliable health information — anytime, anywhere.
Our purpose
To advance public health education through mobile technology. We help people look after themselves — and help services focus on those who need them most.
Our values
We're here to make a difference — and we live by the values that guide our work every day.
- Impact is crucial. We want to make the world better than we found it.
- Co-creation matters. We build apps with people, not just for them.
- Trust is earned. We're transparent, inclusive, independent, and fair.
- People come first. We act with kindness and support your goals.
- Quality counts. We aim for excellence and continuous improvement.
- Always learning. We invite feedback, stay current, and grow together.
- Balance matters. Work should be rewarding and sustainable.
How we're funded
We’re a privately owned company, fully independent and free from outside shareholders or commercial bias. Our first apps were self-funded — and we continue to grow with integrity.
We generate income through:
- Organisational subscriptions to localised home and signposting in some apps
- Commissions for custom-branded apps
- Grants from trusted public or not-for-profit bodies
- Ethical commercial partnerships with reputable companies (in development)
Our commitment: to keep apps free to download — without ads or in-app purchases.
Awards
- British Medical Association Patient Information Award for wellbeing (2019) — distrACT app
- Nursing Times Award for continence care (2022) — CONfidence app