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. 

Unless someone like… me! – A personal reflection on this World Environment Day 2020

It was around this time of year, 20 years ago, that I sold my last car. Ingrid and I were heading to London to live and so the sale was necessary. But the fact that we have not bought a car since, to many, is remarkable – so this reflection is a celebration of that.I...

What are ecosystem services and what do they mean for physiotherapy?

The environment has long been recognised as a determinant of health (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2021). While determinants of health may be protective, health promoting or risk factors (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2021), the narrative regarding the relationship between the...

A physiotherapy clinic on Vancouver Island blazes a trail in eco-friendly clinic design: Dockside Physiotherapy

After launching the EPA a few months ago, it quickly became clear that one of the topics that had huge interest behind them was about what physiotherapy clinicians, clinic owners and teams could do to be more environmentally responsible in their day-to-day clinical...

Beyond Independence lies Interdependence

I sit cleverly positioned between the driver, an experienced field guide seated at the wheel on the right and an invisible cameraman operating from the left back corner of the safari vehicle. The guide turns frequently, looking over his or her left shoulder to talk to...

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