Sustainable general practice

IN ITS 2019 POSITION STATEMENT, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recognises climate change as a key public health issue and articulates the important role that general practitioners (GPs) play in mitigation and adaptation strategies.1 To limit global warming to 1.5°C, th...

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Published inAustralian family physician Vol. 52; no. 5; pp. 257 - 261
Main Authors Yin, Richard, Huang, Jenny, Crisp, George, Ivers, Rowena
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sydney Copyright Agency Limited (Distributor) 01.05.2023
Subjects
Air pollution
Climate change
Family physicians
Health promotion
Outdoor air quality
Primary care
Public health
Sustainability
Australia
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Summary:IN ITS 2019 POSITION STATEMENT, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recognises climate change as a key public health issue and articulates the important role that general practitioners (GPs) play in mitigation and adaptation strategies.1 To limit global warming to 1.5°C, the Climate Council has called for Australia to reach net zero emissions by 2035, with a 75% reduction by 2030.2 This requires an enormous transformational change through every sector of the community, including health. Energy expenditure from staff and patient travel can be reduced by promoting active or public transport with health co-benefits from exercise and reduced air pollution. Switching to plant-based diets can halve greenhouse emissions, increase the mean Healthy Eating Index (a dietary index aligned with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans) by 8.7% and reduce diet costs by 10.5%.14 The Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine invites practitioners to consider innovation in clinical practice, such as shared medical appointments,15 to address some of the diseases associated with lifestyle and health inequity (eg smoking cessation, sleep and stress management, dietary and exercise interventions). There are numerous pathways by which climate change affects human health, including direct effects (eg heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather) and indirect effects (eg on air quality and water and food supply and quality).
ISSN:2208-7958