Newswise — Highlights
- Findings from dialysis facilities in Australia and New Zealand show that environmental sustainability is not currently a priority in facility clinical practice, building design, or infrastructure and management systems.
- The results highlighted major deficiencies and thereby opportunities for improvement.
Washington, DC (November 11, 2022) — Healthcare contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In fact, if you compare the global health sector to a country, he would be the fifth largest emitter on earth. Also, in healthcare, dialysis programs are disproportionately contributing to resource consumption and generating large amounts of waste.A recent study published in clear We explored the environmental sustainability practices of dialysis facilities and provided insights on where improvements can be made.
For this study, Benjamin Talbot, MBBS (The George Institute for Global Health) and his colleagues conducted an online survey of all dialysis facility managers in Australia and New Zealand between November 2019 and December 2020. has been sent. Responses were received from 132 dialysis facilities. It accounts for 33% (122/365) of dialysis services in Australia and New Zealand. Most responses were from public satellite facilities (40%), in-center dialysis facilities (25%), and co-located dialysis and home care facilities (21%).
Opportunities for improving environmental sustainability practices were identified in three domains:
- Culture — A small number of facilities reported having an environmental sustainability strategy in place (33%) or undergoing sustainability audits (20%). Only 7% reported that their staff onboarding program included environmental training.
- Building Design, Infrastructure, Energy Use – Few facilities reported using renewable energy (14%), recovering reverse osmosis water (13%), or using motion sensor light switches (44%).
- Operations — A small number of facilities reported waste management education (36%), auditing waste generation (17%), or considering environmental sustainability in procurement decisions (25%).
“We have established a baseline of environmental sustainability practices in dialysis facilities in Australia and New Zealand, but only 33% of dialysis facilities responded to this survey. “This suggests that it is not a priority for most dialysis facilities. Responses to a survey of dialysis practices further confirm this and point to many areas where improvements can be made,” Dr. Talbot said. “As healthcare professionals, we have a duty to advocate for our patients and protect our planet. must cooperate.”
Additional study authors include Katherine Barraclough, MBBS, PhD, Matthew Sypek, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, Pedro Gois, MD, PhD, FRACP, FASN, Leila Arnold, MbChB, FRACP, Stephen McDonald, MBBS(Hons), PhD , FRACP, John Knight, MBBS, MA, MBA, FRACP, FASN, GAICD.
Disclosure: B Talbot and J Knight are employees of Ellen Medical Devices, which develops affordable dialysis programs. K Barraclough has received research funding from Fresenius Medical Care. P Gois receives consulting fees and honoraria from Alexion Pharmaceuticals. S McDonald has received research funding from Baxter Healthcare and Astellas Pharmaceuticals and has held advisory or leadership roles with Fresenius Kidney Care Australia. L Arnold reports employment and ownership of M and M Renal Limited.
The article, titled “Study on Environmental Sustainability in Dialysis Facilities in Australia and New Zealand,” will be published online on 11 November 2022 at http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/. doi: 10.2215/CJN.08090722
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