Let’s be honest, we all know that nature is important – the soil we use to grow crops, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the wood we use for housing, and so forth. Unfortunately, most of the time we take all these things for granted. What if we suddenly cannot access one of these? And what if what we do on a daily basis, something that we perceive as “normal”, exacerbates this issue?
Research shows what we can expect an increased prevalence of, or even new, challenges in relation to health with the increase in global temperature. According to IPCC (2022), we can predict an increase in heat-related diseases, vector-borne diseases, water/food-borne diseases, deaths directly related to climate change, as well as challenges with mental health. This means we will see more patients with heatstroke, -exhaustion and -syncope (especially older persons), tick-related diseases due to the increased spread and amount of vectors combined with longer seasons, gastrointestinal infections due to contaminated water sources, direct injuries from natural disasters, and a rise in anxiety, depression, and trauma-related challenges linked to uncertainty in relation to environmental changes. This is likely to result in an increased demand for healthcare services, increased need of resources, which ultimately results in an increase in the already significant healthcare climate impact (van Daalen, et al., 2024). Furthermore, critical areas in healthcare – such as the use of plastics and the improper disposal of medical waste, which pose both environmental and health risks – require urgent attention.
So naturally (pun intended), it all connects. If the climate gets worse, so does the situation in healthcare. That begs the question – what can we do in healthcare to help with this issue? Healthcare systems will need to adapt to these upcoming threats, and nurses have the opportunity to play a key role. Sustainability within healthcare means delivering high-quality care while minimizing the climate impact and ensuring patients equitable access to services (Mortimer et al., 2010). Nurses work on the front line of managing the health impacts of climate change (ICN, 2018), protecting and preserving the environment by choosing greener practices (Anåker & Elf, 2014). Protecting the most vulnerable population groups, educating in lifestyle choices, and adjusting care strategies, nurses have a “shared responsibility to protect the natural environment from depletion, pollution, degradation and destruction.” (ICN, 2018). This means that we should start discussing sustainability within our healthcare organizations, and strive to minimize single-use plastics, improve waste management in all its forms, adopt and demand circular systems for technology and material procurement, among other things. Equally important is protecting the healthcare workforce through fair working conditions and promoting patient equity across all levels of care. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (2021) encourages integration of welfare technologies to foster sustainable practices within healthcare organizations, while working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) established by the United Nations in 2015 (UN, 2015), as digital health services can have an positive impact on administrative care processes, making care more accessible, improving the quality of care, and reducing costs for both organizations and patients (WHO, 2021). However, research on the sustainability of welfare technologies is limited, despite their possible financial, social and environmental costs (Gulliksson & Holmgren, 2021). This is the research gap that I hope to fill with my own doctoral thesis exploring the sustainability of digital forms of care. You find my first article on this subject published in Journal of Advanced Nursing here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jan.17072
Let us all take a deep breath. All of these challenges can feel overwhelming and discouraging. Still, there are reasons to be optimistic. We have more research, more knowledge, and more tools than ever before to address these issues. The way we live and work – especially in sectors like healthcare – has a direct impact on the natural systems we depend on. By rethinking our routines, questioning what we consider “normal”, and working together across disciplines, we can help restore balance. This is not only vital for our environment, but also for the future of our welfare society, our healthcare systems, our patients, and staying true to the very heart of nursing values and ethics.
PhD Researcher and Registered Nurse Melanie Rydgren
Caring Science, Department of Natural and Health Sciences, The Faculty of Science and Engineering
Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa Finland
Email: mrydgren@abo.fi
https://research.abo.fi/sv/persons/melanie-rydgren
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-rydgren
If you are interested in this topic, I warmly welcome you to this course at ÅA Open University: HT00CU35 Sustainable health care and welfare technology (5 ECTS)
References
Anåker, A., & Elf, M. (2014). Sustainability in nursing: A concept analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 28(2), 381–389. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12121
Gulliksson, H., & Holmgren, U. (2021). Hållbar utveckling: Livskvalitet, beteende och teknik. Studentlitteratur.
International Council of Nurses. (2018). Nurses, climate change and health. ICN. https://www.icn.ch/news/international-council-nurses-calls-increased-nursing-leadership-combat-effects-climate-change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E. S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, & B. Rama (Eds.), Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 1–3056). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844
MacNeill, A. J., McGain, F., & Sherman, J. D. (2021). Planetary health care: A framework for sustainable health systems. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(2), e66–e68. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30290-0
Mortimer, F. (2010). The sustainable physician. Clinical Medicine, 10(2), 110–111. https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.10-2-110
Rydgren, M., Andtfolk, M., Anåker, A., Estman, L., & Fagerström, L. (2025). Telehomecare as a catalyst for a multifaceted transformation towards sustainable practices: A qualitative study from a practical nurses’ perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.17072
United Nations. (2015). Paris Agreement. Paris. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf
van Daalen, K. R., Tonne, C., Semenza, J. C., Rocklöv, J., Markandya, A., Dasandi, N., & Lowe, R. (2024). The 2024 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Unprecedented warming demands unprecedented action. The Lancet Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00134-3
World Health Organization. (2021). Global strategy on digital health 2020–2025. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/344249/9789240020924-eng.pdf?sequence=