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. 

The Uprising – An EPA regional roundtables event

Since the launch of the Environmental Physiotherapy Association (EPA) in mid-2019, the EPA has been growing steadily and currently unites over 1500 international members. With people in all corners and time zones of the world, speaking all sorts of different...

La physiothérapie environnementale prend sa place au congrès de l’Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ)

L’Ordre Professionnel de la Physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ) se montre engagé à faire avancer la physiothérapie environnementale. Lors de son congrès qui a eu lieu le 9 et 10 novembre dernier (Congrès Physiothérapie 360°), le comité organisateur a invité Shaun Cleaver,...

Can pre-operative physiotherapy reduce the carbon footprint of hospitals?

Healthcare systems have a significant carbon footprint generated through basic infrastructure, medical diagnostic and surgical procedures, as well as patients post-operative hospital stays. There is a growing body of research across various countries looking to...

Allied Health Professionals as agents for change: Chief Sustainability Officer’s Clinical Fellow

Over the last 10 years or more, many of us have been gradually moving towards more sustainable choices in our personal lives. Choosing greener modes of transport, making more plant-based food choices, embracing pre-loved clothing and shopping more locally. There is a...

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