Sustainability and Healthcare (POPH90304)

Human social, mental and economic health is intimately connected with, both positively and negatively, our footprints on the earth. The healthcare system and associated professions are (i) contributors to the problem of anthropogenic climate change, (ii) are impacted by it and are (iii) part of the solution towards a more sustainable society. This subject recognises the need to urgently formulate adaptation and mitigation strategies, thereby addressing the global climate change emergency, through the lens of sustainable healthcare.

Key themes, with reference to case studies and student tasks, include:

• The existing and anticipated impacts of anthropogenic climate change on patients, practitioners and the healthcare system

• Approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation that incorporate nuanced application of systems thinking and design principles, as well as good governance practices

• Evaluation of the various elements of sustainability practice in different healthcare settings and services, including community, hospital and laboratory contexts, using local, national and international examples and experts

• Consideration of the barriers and facilitators, as well as co-benefits, of system change towards more sustainable healthcare, including the commercial determinants of health

• Analysis and application of the principles of transformation of linear to circular economies, and the role of lifecycle analysis in promoting low carbon, but high value, healthcare

• Linkage of climate change and sustainability with other health equity issues, within

determinants of health framework, of intersectionality, allyship and co-benefits for disadvantaged groups