Advancing an environmentally responsible physiotherapy

 

The world faces complex and interrelated crises… Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, rapid urbanization, geopolitical conflict and militarization, demographic change, population displacement, poverty, and widespread inequity create risks of future crises even more severe than those experienced today. Responses require investments that integrate planetary, societal, community and individual health and well-being (WHO 2021 Geneva Charter for Wellbeing)

 

 The impact of human activities on our planet’s natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift (Myers, 2017)

Action at the level of direct drivers of nature decline, although necessary, is not sufficient … a sustainable global future’ is ‘only possible with urgent transformative change that tackles the root causes: the interconnected economic, socio-cultural, demographic, political, institutional, and technological indirect drivers behind the direct drivers (Diaz et al., 2019)

About

An international community of academics, clinicians, practitioners and students interested in exploring and advancing the field of environmental physiotherapy. 

Blog

Follow our latest musings on environmental physiotherapy. Ideas, inspiration, news, publications, events, and more. 

Join

Become part of the first international community of physiotherapists with an interest in researching, developing, and practising physiotherapy at a planetary scale. 

Resources

A growing selection of resources carefully selected by members of the EPA to inspire your thinking and practice of environmental physiotherapy. 

Sommerhitze: Eine Gefahr für Ihre Patient*innen? Physiotherapeut*innen für Gesprächsrunde gesucht

Gemeinsam mit meinem Forschungsteam forsche ich zu Gesundheitsschutz bei Hitzeextremen in Deutschland (Projekt HAP-DE - Analyse von Hitzeaktionsplänen und gesundheitlichen Anpassungsmaßnahmen an Hitzeextreme in Deutschland, gefördert vom Umweltbundesamt). Fallstudie...

Connaissances, sensibilisation et perception du Masseur-Kinésithérapeute dans le changement climatique et son impact sur la sante

La plus grande menace du XXIème siècle, le changement climatique, a déjà de graves conséquences modifiant la face du monde. Ces effets nuisent gravement à la santé humaine avec l'émergence et l'accentuation de pathologies pouvant être observées sur tous les...

Cuerpo, territorio y medio ambiente: hacia una kinesiología conectada con la salud mental e inmersa en naturaleza y los derechos humanos

Hay preguntas que no se responden en el aula ni en un congreso académico. Surgen, más bien, en el silencio del camino, en el dolor que persiste en el cuerpo de las personas y es compartido en los procesos terapéuticos, o en el temblor de una emoción al contemplar un...

Environmental physiotherapy education at the In Beta Unconference 2020

In Beta is a virtual community of physiotherapy educators who experiment with different approaches to teaching and learning, make podcasts, publish a newsletter, share project ideas and arrange Unconferences. In Beta’s name reflects the fact that we are always in a...

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