Environmental sustainability in intensive care: An international survey of intensive care professionals'views, practices and proposals to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine

Abstract

Background: The intensive care unit (ICU) is a high-resource area, generating more waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than standard hospital wards. Environmental sustainability is important for healthcare professionals worldwide, prompting scientific societies to call for urgent action. To respond to this global need, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) conducted an international survey assessing intensive care professionals' attitudes and practices towards environmental sustainability.

Methods: Intensive care professionals completed an online survey between 21 October 2023, and 5 January 2024. The survey, featuring 21 questions assessing attitudes and practices towards environmental sustainability and proposals for actions from ESICM, was disseminated during the 36th ESICM Congress via National Intensive Care Societies and ESICM's social media.

Results: We received 635 responses from 48 countries. Four hundred seventy (80 %) respondents acknowledged a responsibility to be aware of the environmental impact of intensive care practice, and 372 (63.5 %) disagreed or were uncertain about their knowledge level to guide practice. Four hundred thirty-seven (84 %) lacked formal training on making sustainable choices. Ninety-five per cent used non-sterile gloves in ICUs, and 63 % were willing to reduce use to support sustainable practices. Two proposed actions for ESICM to improve environmental sustainability were increasing knowledge on ecology (91/187, 49 %) and raising awareness in the field (36/187,20 %).

Conclusion: This survey highlighted the need for scientific societies, notably ESICM, to provide robust support and structured education on environmental sustainability. Intensive care professionals acknowledged the environmental impact of intensive care and seemed eager to invest in their education on this topic.

Keywords: Environment; ICU; Intensive care; Survey; Sustainability.