A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures
Background: Climate change may well be the “largest threat” to humankind. Changes to our climate system lead to a decrease in global health. The healthcare sector presents one of the largest carbon footprints across all industries. Since surgical departments have one of the largest carbon footprints...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024012295 |
| _version_ | 1797304484560371712 |
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| author | Sven Jacob Sophie Anne Schust Martin Angele Jens Werner Markus Guba Nikolaus Börner |
| author_facet | Sven Jacob Sophie Anne Schust Martin Angele Jens Werner Markus Guba Nikolaus Börner |
| author_sort | Sven Jacob |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Climate change may well be the “largest threat” to humankind. Changes to our climate system lead to a decrease in global health. The healthcare sector presents one of the largest carbon footprints across all industries. Since surgical departments have one of the largest carbon footprints within the healthcare sector, they represent an area with vast opportunities for improvement. To drive change, it is vital to create awareness of these issues and encourage engagement in changes among people working in the healthcare industry. Methods: We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study to assess awareness among surgeons regarding the impact of healthcare systems on climate change. The questions were designed to investigate surgeons' willingness to accept and promote changes to reduce carbon footprints. Participants included surgical professionals of all ages and levels of expertise. Results: A total of 210 participants completed the survey in full and were included in the evaluation. Sixty percent emphasized a lack of information and the need for personal education. Over 90 % expressed concern for the environment and a strong desire to gain new insights. Provided that clinical performance remains the same, more than 70 % are willing to embrace carbon-friendly alternatives. In this context, all participants accepted the additional time required for training and initially increased personal efforts to achieve equal performance. Conclusion: Limited awareness and information about carbon footprints were observed in surgical departments in German hospitals. Nevertheless, the vast majority of surgeons across all age groups are more than willing to acquire new insights and adapt to changes in order to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide production. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7157cda5f3f9462d8f02162484434c3d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-7157cda5f3f9462d8f02162484434c3d2024-02-17T06:39:59ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01103e25198A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical proceduresSven Jacob0Sophie Anne Schust1Martin Angele2Jens Werner3Markus Guba4Nikolaus Börner5Corresponding author. Ludwig-Maximilians-University Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany.; Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyLudwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyLudwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyLudwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyLudwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyLudwig-Maximilians-University, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Munich, GermanyBackground: Climate change may well be the “largest threat” to humankind. Changes to our climate system lead to a decrease in global health. The healthcare sector presents one of the largest carbon footprints across all industries. Since surgical departments have one of the largest carbon footprints within the healthcare sector, they represent an area with vast opportunities for improvement. To drive change, it is vital to create awareness of these issues and encourage engagement in changes among people working in the healthcare industry. Methods: We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey study to assess awareness among surgeons regarding the impact of healthcare systems on climate change. The questions were designed to investigate surgeons' willingness to accept and promote changes to reduce carbon footprints. Participants included surgical professionals of all ages and levels of expertise. Results: A total of 210 participants completed the survey in full and were included in the evaluation. Sixty percent emphasized a lack of information and the need for personal education. Over 90 % expressed concern for the environment and a strong desire to gain new insights. Provided that clinical performance remains the same, more than 70 % are willing to embrace carbon-friendly alternatives. In this context, all participants accepted the additional time required for training and initially increased personal efforts to achieve equal performance. Conclusion: Limited awareness and information about carbon footprints were observed in surgical departments in German hospitals. Nevertheless, the vast majority of surgeons across all age groups are more than willing to acquire new insights and adapt to changes in order to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide production.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024012295 |
| spellingShingle | Sven Jacob Sophie Anne Schust Martin Angele Jens Werner Markus Guba Nikolaus Börner A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures Heliyon |
| title | A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| title_full | A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| title_fullStr | A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| title_full_unstemmed | A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| title_short | A long road ahead. A German national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| title_sort | long road ahead a german national survey study on awareness and willingness of surgeons towards the carbon footprint of modern surgical procedures |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024012295 |
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