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. 

¿Qué es la salud planetaria?

La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) define salud como “un estado de bienestar físico, mental y social que permite el desarrollo óptimo del individuo”. Desde la pura definición del término, la salud planetaria va mucho más allá en su complejidad, ya que aspira a...

Transforming Physiotherapy Education for Planetary Health: A European Exchange of Ideas, Practices, and Pathways Forward

From March 24th – 28th, over 20 educators, researchers, and leaders of Physiotherapy Departments across Europe—spanning from Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark—joined for a powerful deep-dive...

Natur Mensch Künstliche Intelligenz und Kultur

Wie eine deutsche Physiotherapie-Zeitschrift (1) im Juli 2020 veröffentlichte, sind in der Forschung Therapiemethoden in der Erprobung, die eine weitere Elektrifizierung der Physiotherapie zur Folge hätten. Die zunehmende Elektrifizierung von Lebenswelten verändert...

Il ruolo chiave della pianificazione urbana nella promozione dell’attività fisica

L’inattività fisica, concorrendo ad arrecare numerosi effetti nocivi sulle patologie croniche, è responsabile di oltre 5 milioni di morti annuali. Per questa ragione è considerabile come una pandemia (1). Ciò, associato ad un’esponenziale crescita della popolazione,...

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