Summer 2024 (Volume 34, Number 2)

Survey Results: Planetary Health

Download PDF

This edition’s Joint Count survey focused on Planetary Health and CRA members’ perspectives on this topic within the context of the healthcare sector. There were 68 surveys completed, equating to a response rate of 12 %.

The first question asked, “Do you think physicians have an influential role to help reduce the carbon footprint of the healthcare sector?” More than half of respondents (56%) replied affirmatively, followed by 35% responding “maybe” and 9% saying “no”.

The second query asked about what sorts of actions are taken at the places where rheumatologists work. The most common action appeared to be reusing gowns and/or linens (60%), followed by properly sorting biohazardous vs. non-hazardous waste to reduce biohazardous waste volumes (biohazardous waste requires incineration which has a much higher carbon footprint and disposal costs) (35%).

Some changes to reduce the carbon footprint of rheumatology practices would definitely require physician involvement. The next query asked what actions rheumatologists would be interested in taking. The responses are summarized in the Chart below. However, a couple of those surveyed commented that, while all of these actions would be ideal, there has to be hospital support as these changes cannot be made on one’s own.

When asked about what they would be interested in learning more about regarding this topic, approximately 85% of survey respondents would be interested in learning more about how to reduce their carbon footprint and save costs in their medical practices. About half said they would be interested in learning more about the environmental impacts on human health and medical practices, as well as how to influence their hospitals and organizations to reduce emissions.

The Planetary Health Task Force is evaluating these results and is working on building resources for CRA members. For any questions or feedback, please reach out to info@rheum.ca.