A Scoping Review of Interventions to Reduce the Environmental Footprint of Healthcare

Abstract

Objectives: The healthcare sector contributes significantly to global warming; yet, strategies for reducing its impact are not well integrated into health policy. This scoping review aimed to identify the range of effective interventions that can reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare and to provide an overview of their impact.

Methods: We searched for peer-reviewed articles published in English, French, or Swedish between 2010 and September 2024 in Medline and Web of Science, following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. Publications were selected by 2 researchers and a documentalist. Data from included studies were extracted and synthesized in tables and described in a narrative synthesis.

Results: We identified 7 systematic reviews and 44 original research articles. Most of the effective interventions targeted hospitals and varied from energy saving practices and reducing potent anesthetic gases to changing care protocols and improving waste management. The measured impact of interventions was context specific and depended on national energy sources. Only a few studies reported on the impact of structural and strategic changes in healthcare provision across care settings.

Conclusions: There is an urgent need for better understanding the costs and benefits of diffusing effective green interventions across care providers and developing more systemic approaches for optimizing care provision and utilisation to achieve a meaningful impact.

Keywords: care providers; climate change; global warming; green interventions; healthcare.