In:
GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, Oekom Publishers GmbH, Vol. 20, No. 3 ( 2011-10-06), p. 191-198
Abstract:
Although sustainable development is closely interrelated with health and health promotion, in health care systems these themes are hardly ever discussed and even more rarely implemented in combination. We see opportunities for sustainable development and health promotion, particularly
in hospitals, since they play a central role in health care systems. Furthermore, hospitals have significant and growing economic, social, and environmental impacts, which in turn cause adverse effects upon health. In a t ransdisciplinary project involving scientists and health care practitioners
we examined how sustainability can be conceptualized for hospitals in line with both a socio-ecological understanding of sustainable development and with "hospitals' reality". Our approach aims at avoiding unintended long-term and side effects of health care – hospitals' core business – by expanding quality criteria for decision making to include sustainability and health gain improvement. An example demonstrates that a hospital can thereby improve its future viability and contribute to global sustainability.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0940-5550
DOI:
10.14512/gaia.20.3.10
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oekom Publishers GmbH
Publication Date:
2011
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2901363-X
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2111556-4
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1114994-2
SSG:
14
SSG:
5,21
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