The healthcare industry accounts for approximately 5% of total greenhouse gas and toxic air emissions, primarily from the United States, and directly contributes to the ongoing climate crisis.1
Given the health sector's notable contribution to climate change, mitigation and adaptation efforts will largely depend on physicians and key stakeholders, said Associate Internal Medicine Program Director, Department of Hospital Medicine, Cooper University School of Health said Elizabeth Celseo, M.D., director and director of environmental health. care was discussed in her session at the 2024 American College of Physicians (ACP) Physicians Conference in Boston.
Specifically, she noted the importance of leveraging direct patient education, saying, “Whether we're health care workers, medical professionals, nurses, doctors, we all have a great deal of trust from the public.” So when they hear messages from us about the climate, they feel that way.” They will listen to us more about relevant health factors and the effects of climate change than they will listen to messages from politicians or elsewhere. ”
Celseo said it is generally desirable for physicians to be well-informed about a topic before discussing it with a patient, but the strength of the current data makes providers feel “empowered.” , said patients should feel that having an open conversation ultimately benefits them. , regardless of how much you know about the latest climate-related information.
In addition to ensuring that doctors themselves are educated about climate change and its relevance to healthcare, Celseo said he will also work to ensure that doctors themselves are educated about climate change and its relevance to healthcare, as well as those who are not yet aware or poorly understood of the health impacts associated with climate change. He also emphasized the importance of educating potential residents and perhaps other physicians.
“New research is happening at a rapid pace,” she added. “We're seeing studies that can demonstrate the pathways of physiological linkage. We're no longer just studying correlations and associations; we're seeing studies that show that these are real effects. We have more fundamental data and can demonstrate why.”
Despite mounting evidence supporting the growing climate crisis, patients' receptivity to climate-related topics when discussing their health tends to depend on how they frame the conversation, Celseo explains. did. She not only counsels patients about the need to be careful about exposure to specific environmental factors, such as air pollution, but also provides specific things for patients to do and connections that appeal to first-hand experience. I also mentioned the importance of
Mr Celseo said the growing dialogue and research around climate change was “encouraging”, but he cautioned that it was not enough: “Things really need to accelerate and we need to step on the gas. We need to keep going. This is not the time to sit back and think, “Oh, there have been some positive steps, let's rest on our laurels…'' All doctors need to be aware of the interrelationship between us and our environment and be aware of our needs. Keep this in mind and incorporate it into your daily practice. ”
reference:
1. Eckelman MJ, Huang K, Lagasse R, et al. Medical contamination and public health damage in the United States: Latest information. health issues. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01247
