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. 

Un taller de fisioterapia sostenible en la Facultat de Fisioteràpia en la Universitat de València

El lunes 19 de junio 2023, un grupo de estudiantes de Grado, Máster y Doctorado de Fisioterapia de la Universitat de València asistieron durante todo el día a un taller sobre Fisioterapia Medioambiental. El taller se organizó gracias a los esfuerzos del Comisión de...

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...

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...

The struggle for the decolonisation of both people and nature

In Aotearoa New Zealand (hereafter Aotearoa), upon the meeting of strangers with Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa), oftentimes you’ll hear the question “Ko wai koe?”, meaning “Who are you?”. The word ‘wai’ also translates to mean ‘water’. Thus for Māori, the...

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