This webinar, hosted by CASCADES and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, explored approaches used by organizations to address unnecessary glove use. Manufactured from synthetic materials such as latex, nitrile, or vinyl, single-use gloves carry financial costs as well as environmental and health impacts. During the session, representatives from the NHS, British Columbia, and Quebec provided an in-depth overview of the development of their initiatives to promote appropriate glove use in health care settings.
Since May 1, 2023, Island Health has launched the “Gloves Off!” campaign to create a noticeable and measurable decrease in inappropriate glove use through a paradigm shift in organizational culture.
The Lead Nurse for Infection Prevention and Control and two Lead Practice Educators at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) addressed the over-use of non-sterile gloves through education and training. This has improved patient safety and experience and staff are now following evidence-based practice rather than wearing gloves out of habit.
An infographic for planetary health in primary care featuring four principles for environmentally sustainable healthcare: avoid unncessary care, empowering patients, choose environmental alternatives, shift to prevention.
This primer is an introduction to planetary health in the primary care setting and is designed to highlight ways practitioners can integrate these principles into their clinical work. It is not intended to duplicate existing resources on other important topics such as political and personal actions or hospital-based solutions. It o ers examples, practice tips and links to existing resources to educate, inspire and remove barriers to change, organized around the our principles. Readers may want to read it from start to finish or by sections.
This simple QI project demonstrates the feasibility of implementing a small change in a primary care clinic that can improve environmental sustainability with multiple co-benefits. If all family physicians in Canada eliminated exam table paper in their offices, it would result in savings of approximately 95 940 km of paper, 121 680 trees, $C8 400 600 and 3054 T CO2 emissions, equivalent to driving around the world 360 times.
Adopting a planetary health lens provides a new way to think about environmental sustainability in primary care. With many providers working together to incorporate the 4 principles of sustainable health care into our everyday work, we can help reduce the health sector’s environmental footprint with additional benefits for patients, providers, and the health care system.
This webinar features Ilona Hale, MD, exploring new ideas in environmentally sustainable clinical practice. It goes beyond basic measures like recycling and energy-efficient lighting, highlighting the connection between environmental sustainability and high-quality care, including patient-centred care, de-prescribing, and health promotion. The session explains how practicing high-quality, low-carbon care can improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare system burden, decrease provider workload, and help address climate change. Ilona Hale is a family physician with the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia.
