HEALTH IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

Health professionals can play a part in protecting the environment through individual clinical practice and improving the sustainability of primary care facilities and practices. Founded in 1992, our Small Group programme provides education to health professionals, with a focus on promoting best practice and optimal use of health resources including their contribution to climate change. "Small Group allows peers to discuss topics in a safe space," Clinical Quality and Education Service Manager Louise Kennedy said. “Health in a changing climate is an important topic and it could have been quite overwhelming to be thinking about this amid a global pandemic. We found Small Group discussions provided space for peers to take away practical ideas tomakea differenceatindividual,practice, andpharmacy levels. Smallchanges individuallydo lead tobiggercollective changesthatcanmake adifference,”Louisesaid. Climate change, water quality and many other environmental harms are posing serious risk to human health and wellbeing and may result in an increase in health inequities. In January 2020, the World Health Organization listed ‘elevating health in the climate debate’ as one of the most urgent global health challenges for the next decade.

"Climate change is possibly the greatest threat to human health that the world is facing. The good news is that manyofthesolutionstoreduceclimatechangealsobenefithealthandequity,nowandforfuturegenerations," Clinical Quality and Education Clinical Facilitator and Public Health Registrar Eline Thomson said. Discussions inthesmall groupscovered manyopportunities tomake adifference, includingpromoting best practice, avoiding overdiagnosis, overtreatment and polypharmacy, decreasing carbon emissions, and reducing pharmaceutical and medical waste. Materials from Small Group are available on our Pegasus Education Platform – Te Rau Ako for registered users.