Steinunn A Olafsdottir, Lilja Salome H Petursdottir
{"title":"Environmental physiotherapy: knowledge, attitudes, and practices among physiotherapists in Iceland.","authors":"Steinunn A Olafsdottir, Lilja Salome H Petursdottir","doi":"10.3389/fpubh.2025.1528217","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>With growing concerns about climate change and the healthcare sector's carbon footprint, integrating sustainable practices into physiotherapy could not only reduce this impact but also enhance patient outcomes. This study explores the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physiotherapists in Iceland regarding climate change and their role in promoting sustainability.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was distributed to active members of the Icelandic Physiotherapy Association. A total of 114 physiotherapists participated (17.1% response rate). The survey, consisting of 21 questions across four themes-knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and obstacles-captured insights on respondents' understanding of climate change, their environmental practices, and the challenges they encounter.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results revealed a strong awareness of the relevance of climate change to health, though many respondents acknowledged limited knowledge on the topic. A majority expressed a sense of responsibility to mitigate climate change and reported taking actions such as reducing waste and promoting energy conservation. However, many identified a need for more guidance and training to integrate sustainable practices effectively. The primary obstacle was insufficient knowledge on implementing environmental strategies, with respondents indicating that education and resources would help overcome this barrier.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study highlights the potential for physiotherapists to contribute significantly to the healthcare sector's sustainability goals. The respondents' desire to enhance their environmental practices suggests an opportunity for professional associations and educational institutions to provide targeted training and support. By fostering greater environmental literacy, physiotherapists could not only contribute to reducing the healthcare sector's carbon footprint but also promote sustainable health behaviors in patients. Enhanced knowledge and support could help physiotherapists become key contributors to sustainability in healthcare.</p>","PeriodicalId":12548,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Public Health","volume":"13 ","pages":"1528217"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11865207/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Public Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1528217","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental physiotherapy: knowledge, attitudes, and practices among physiotherapists in Iceland.
Introduction: With growing concerns about climate change and the healthcare sector's carbon footprint, integrating sustainable practices into physiotherapy could not only reduce this impact but also enhance patient outcomes. This study explores the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physiotherapists in Iceland regarding climate change and their role in promoting sustainability.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to active members of the Icelandic Physiotherapy Association. A total of 114 physiotherapists participated (17.1% response rate). The survey, consisting of 21 questions across four themes-knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and obstacles-captured insights on respondents' understanding of climate change, their environmental practices, and the challenges they encounter.
Results: The results revealed a strong awareness of the relevance of climate change to health, though many respondents acknowledged limited knowledge on the topic. A majority expressed a sense of responsibility to mitigate climate change and reported taking actions such as reducing waste and promoting energy conservation. However, many identified a need for more guidance and training to integrate sustainable practices effectively. The primary obstacle was insufficient knowledge on implementing environmental strategies, with respondents indicating that education and resources would help overcome this barrier.
Discussion: This study highlights the potential for physiotherapists to contribute significantly to the healthcare sector's sustainability goals. The respondents' desire to enhance their environmental practices suggests an opportunity for professional associations and educational institutions to provide targeted training and support. By fostering greater environmental literacy, physiotherapists could not only contribute to reducing the healthcare sector's carbon footprint but also promote sustainable health behaviors in patients. Enhanced knowledge and support could help physiotherapists become key contributors to sustainability in healthcare.
期刊介绍：
Frontiers in Public Health is a multidisciplinary open-access journal which publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research and is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians, policy makers and the public worldwide. The journal aims at overcoming current fragmentation in research and publication, promoting consistency in pursuing relevant scientific themes, and supporting finding dissemination and translation into practice.
Frontiers in Public Health is organized into Specialty Sections that cover different areas of research in the field. Please refer to the author guidelines for details on article types and the submission process.
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