Environmental change and human health
Planetary health is a new field of interdisciplinary research dealing with the effects of global environmental change on human health. It is not limited to understanding the effects of global environmental change on health, but it also aims to understand the drivers of global environmental change, particularly the effects of healthcare itself on the global environment, and the policies that can avert global environmental change and its related health effects. In view of the lack of sustainable product supply, innovation in sustainable product design and recycling techniques is urgently needed. Furthermore, knowledge development plays an important role in the ability to scale up sustainability and sustainable device use.
More research and education is needed on the environmental impact of certain procedures and medical devices, which considers the entire life cycle and several aspects of environmental impact. Implementation research is also needed into sustainable devices or processes, which includes an assessment of effectiveness, safety and behaviour. In addition, methods that provide insight into aspects of sustainability and hidden costs of devices can make an important contribution. By making even better use of the available knowledge at the UT and our established innovative ecosystem, we are in the unique position to contribute to these planetary health challenges.