Talking about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation with Patients in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Potential Domains of Action and Points of View of General Practitioners

Hélène André; Julia Gonzalez Holguera; Anneliese Depoux; Jérôme Pasquier; Dagmar M. Haller; Pierre-Yves Rodondi; Joëlle Schwarz; Nicolas Senn

doi:10.3390/ijerph19084901

journal article Open Access Apr 18, 2022

Talking about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation with Patients in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Potential Domains of Action and Points of View of General Practitioners

Hélène André

Julia Gonzalez Holguera Anneliese Depoux

Jérôme Pasquier

Dagmar M. Haller Pierre-Yves Rodondi Joëlle Schwarz

Nicolas Senn

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 19 No. 8 pp. 4901 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/ijerph19084901

Abstract

Purpose: General practitioners (GPs) could play a role in mitigating climate change by raising awareness of its impact on human health and implementing changes to improve population health and decreasing environmental footprints. The aim of this study was to assess GPs’ knowledge and perspectives about the health impacts of climate change. Method: A questionnaire was sent to 1972 GPs in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Knowledge of the impact of environmental degradations and climate change on health and willingness to address climate change with patients, to be exemplary and to act as role models were surveyed as well as demographic characteristics of GPs. Results: Respondents (N = 497) expressed a high level of self-reported knowledge regarding climate change, although it was lower for more specific topics, such as planetary health or health–environment co-benefits. Participants mostly agreed that it is necessary to adapt clinical practice to the health impacts of climate change and that they have a role in providing information on climate change and its links to human health. Conclusion: Most of the GPs were concerned about environmental and climate degradation. However, this study revealed a gap between the willingness of GPs to integrate the impact of climate change on health into their clinical activities and their lack of overall knowledge and scientific evidence on effective interventions. A promising way forward may be to develop co-benefit interventions adapted to the clinical setting on diet, active mobility and connecting with nature.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

36

[1]

Watts "The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Shaping the health of nations for centuries to come" Lancet Lond Engl. (2018) 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)32594-7

[2]

Steffen "Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet" Science (2015) 10.1126/science.1259855

[3]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2020, April 18). Global Warming of 1.5 °C. Available online: http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/.

[4]

Maibach "Do Americans Understand That Global Warming Is Harmful to Human Health? Evidence From a National Survey" Ann. Glob. Health (2015) 10.1016/j.aogh.2015.08.010

[5]

Liu "Ambient Particulate Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in 652 Cities" N. Engl. J. Med. (2019) 10.1056/nejmoa1817364

[6]

Kim "Suicide and Ambient Temperature: A Multi-Country Multi-City Study" Environ. Health Perspect. (2019) 10.1289/ehp4898

[7]

Karliner "Health Care’s Climate Footprint: How the Health Sector Contributes to the Global Climate Crisis and Opportunities for Action" Eur. J. Public Health (2020) 10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.843

[8]

Thiel "Attitude of US obstetricians and gynaecologists to global warming and medical waste" J. Health Serv. Res. Policy (2017) 10.1177/1355819617697353

[9]

Storz, M.A. (2018). A Practical Guide for Physicians and Health Care Workers to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint in Daily Clinical Work. Perm. J., 22, Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5882189/. 10.7812/tpp/17-145

[10]

Planetary health care: a framework for sustainable health systems

Andrea J MacNeill, Forbes McGain, Jodi D Sherman

The Lancet Planetary Health 2021 10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00005-x

[11]

Steffen "Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity" Ecol. Soc. (2009) 10.5751/es-03180-140232

[12]

Kotcher "Views of health professionals on climate change and health: A multinational survey study" Lancet Planet. Health (2021) 10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00053-x

[13]

Maibach, E.W., Sarfaty, M., Mitchell, M., and Gould, R. (2019). Limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2.0 °C—A unique and necessary role for health professionals. PLoS Med., 16. 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002804

[14]

Challenges and opportunities in planetary health for primary care providers

Edward Xie, Enrique Falceto de Barros, Alan Abelsohn et al.

The Lancet Planetary Health 2018 10.1016/s2542-5196(18)30055-x

[15]

Holguera "Health & Environment Co-benefits: Concepts and recommendations for clinical practice" Rev. Médicale Suisse (2020)

[16]

Quam, V.G.M., Rocklöv, J., Quam, M.B.M., and Lucas, R.A.I. (2017). Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 14. 10.3390/ijerph14050468

[17]

Ekins "Perspective: A healthy planet for healthy people" Glob. Sustain. (2019) 10.1017/sus.2019.17

[18]

Willett "Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems" Lancet (2019) 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31788-4

[19]

WONCA, Planetary Health Alliance, and Clinicians for Planetary Health (2020, April 06). Declaration Calling for Family Doctors of the World to Act on Planetary Health. Available online: www.globalfamilydoctor.com/Decplanethealth.

[20]

Sibbald "Physicians’ roles on the front line of climate change" CMAJ Can. Med. Assoc. J. (2013) 10.1503/cmaj.130087

[21]

Temte "Patient attitudes toward issues of environmental health" Wilderness Environ. Med. (2001) 10.1580/1080-6032(2001)012[0086:patioe]2.0.co;2

[22]

Sarfaty "A Survey of African American Physicians on the Health Effects of Climate Change" Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health (2014) 10.3390/ijerph111212473

[23]

Sarfaty "Views of AAAAI members on climate change and health" J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. Pract. (2016) 10.1016/j.jaip.2015.09.018

[24]

Sarfaty "American Thoracic Society Member Survey on Climate Change and Health" Ann. Am. Thorac. Soc. (2015) 10.1513/annalsats.201410-460bc

[25]

Boland "Family Medicine Patient and Physician Attitudes Toward Climate Change and Health in Wisconsin" Wilderness Environ. Med. (2019) 10.1016/j.wem.2019.08.005

[26]

Crowley "Climate Change and Health: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians" Ann. Intern. Med. (2016) 10.7326/m15-2766

[27]

Iacobucci "Planetary Health: WONCA Urges Family Doctors to Commit to Action" BMJ (2019) 10.1136/bmj.l1002

[28]

Veidis "A call for clinicians to act on planetary health" Lancet (2019) 10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30846-3

[29]

Gardner "From Publications to Public Actions: The Role of Universities in Facilitating Academic Advocacy and Activism in the Climate and Ecological Emergency" Front. Sustain. (2021) 10.3389/frsus.2021.679019

[30]

Rieser "Le chemin se fait en marchant" Bull Médecins Suisses (2021)

[31]

Dupraz, J., and Burnand, B. (2021). Role of Health Professionals Regarding the Impact of Climate Change on Health—An Exploratory Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18. 10.3390/ijerph18063222

[32]

Redvers "Patient-Planetary Health Co-Benefit Prescribing: Emerging Considerations for Health Policy and Health Professional Practice" Front. Public Health. (2021) 10.3389/fpubh.2021.678545

[33]

Brown "What Are Risks and Benefits of Not Incorporating Information about Population Growth and Its Impact on Climate Change into Reproductive Care?" AMA J. Ethics (2017) 10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.12.ecas1-1712

[34]

Gifford "The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological Barriers That Limit Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation" Am. Psychol. (2011) 10.1037/a0023566

[35]

Joinson "Social desirability, anonymity, and Internet-based questionnaires" Behav. Res. Methods Instrum Comput. J. Psychon. Soc. Inc. (1999) 10.3758/bf03200723

[36]

Sebo "Rates, Delays, and Completeness of General Practitioners’ Responses to a Postal Versus Web-Based Survey: A Randomized Trial" J. Med. Internet Res. (2017) 10.2196/jmir.6308

Cited By

41

Environmental impact analysis based on sustainable behavior, sources and uses of energy.

Virginia Guadalupe López Torres, Luis Ramón Moreno Moreno · 2025

Agricultura, Sociedad y Desarrollo

What can we learn from Australian general practices taking steps to be more environmentally sustainable? A qualitative study

Alex Pavli, Victoria Loblay · 2023

Family Practice

Metrics

41

Citations

36

References

Details

Published: Apr 18, 2022
Vol/Issue: 19(8)
Pages: 4901
License: View

Authors

H

Hélène André

Department of Family Medicine, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland

J

Julia Gonzalez Holguera

Competence Center for Sustainability, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

A

Anneliese Depoux

Centre Virchow-Villermé and Centre des Politiques de la Terre, Université Paris Cité, 75006 Paris, France

J

Jérôme Pasquier

Sector of Biostatistics, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland

D

Dagmar M. Haller

University Institute for Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1206 Geneva, Switzerland

P

Pierre-Yves Rodondi

Institute of Family Medicine, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland

J

Joëlle Schwarz

Department of Family Medicine, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland

N

Nicolas Senn

Department of Family Medicine, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland

Cite This Article

Hélène André, Julia Gonzalez Holguera, Anneliese Depoux, et al. (2022). Talking about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation with Patients in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Potential Domains of Action and Points of View of General Practitioners. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), 4901. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084901

Talking about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation with Patients in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Potential Domains of Action and Points of View of General Practitioners

You May Also Like