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. 

Physiotherapie + Studium + Nachhaltigkeit = Zukunft

Vor wenigen Wochen wurde ich mit der EPA und ihrem Thema der Verknüpfung von Physiotherapie und Umwelt konfrontiert. Wenige Tage später veröffentlichte die EPT ihre Agenda 2023. Erfahrungen und Gedanken zu einem Thema, wenn man persönlich bei Level 0 anfängt....

Embedding Climate Change in the Physiotherapy Curriculum: Why Aren’t We Acting?

If we know that climate change is real—and that it represents the greatest threat to health, affecting every person on the planet—why is there still no urgency to modify, change, and adapt physiotherapy curricula? If planetary health truly matters in health education,...

A walking-based program to address the physical, mental and social aspects of low back pain: A single-case study

Last sprint in this Bachelor of Physiotherapy. Our bachelor thesis needs to be innovative! Looking for a partnership with a technology company to use micro sensors to assess the gait quality of patients. A professor comes with another great idea: prove that a...

Healthpunk Vol 2 – Call for Stories

After the incredible success of Physiopunk Vol 1 - Speculative fiction for future physiotherapies, I am really excited to share this Call of Stories for what will be our second volume, open to all healthcare professions, all languages, students, clinicians, academics...

If you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about environmental physiotherapy,
we would love to hear from you anytime

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