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. 

Rethinking geography as a barrier to rural health outcomes

One of the magical things about living in a rural place is our geography. We love where we live and have the privilege of being close to nature most of the time. I am really lucky to live in the beautiful coastal town of Port Macquarie, Australia. We are known for our...

Exploring the overlaps between occupational health physiotherapy and environmental physiotherapy

Our first-ever Vlog comes from Kathy Roberts, a practicing Occupational Health Physiotherapist in the UK, and Honorary Clinical Academic Fellow at the University of Exeter. Kathy is particularly interested in education and research, and the role of physiotherapy in...

Gesundheit braucht Klimaschutz – drei Tage auf Messe und Kongress therapie Leipzig

„Irritieren und Inspirieren“ war gemeinsam mit dem Health For Future (H4F) - Slogan „Gesundheit braucht Klimaschutz“ unser Motto. Unser Ziel war, Menschen durch Bewusstseinsschaffung für die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise auf unsere Gesundheit zu sensibilisieren und...

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...

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

3 + 5 =