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Sustainable Nursing Practice

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Sustainable Nursing Practice

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, Our Common Future - Brundtland Report). Sustainability in the context of healthcare is about progress in the delivery of high quality patient care for all by promoting the three elements of sustainable development - environmental, social and financial.

Last updated: 14/08/2019

Key Resources

Royal College of Nursing: Sustainability - why it matters in health and care, and what the RCN is doing about it.
World Health Organisation (2017) Climate change and health, Geneva: WHO.
United Nations Development Programme (2017) United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Knowledge Platform
  • The United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by UN Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for people and the planet, now and into the future. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
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  • Sustainable Development Goal 3 - Health
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Royal College of Nursing (2011) Freedom of Information Follow up Report on Management of Waste in the NHS, London: RCN. Royal College of Nursing (2018) Freedom of Information Follow up Report on Management of Waste in the NHS, London: RCN
Sustainable Development Unit (2016) Sustainable development strategy for the health and social care system 2014 – 2020 SDU: Cambridge.
Sustainable Development Unit: NHS long term plan
Lancet and Royal College of Physicians (2017) Lancet Countdown 2017 Report: briefing for UK policymakers. Lancet: London
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  • The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change is an international research collaboration, dedicated to tracking the world's response to climate change, and the health benefits that emerge from this transition.
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Health Care Without Harm Europe

  • HCWH Europe is a non-profit European coalition of health organisations working to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint.
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NurSusTOOLKIT project
  • The NurSus project aims to develop innovative teaching and learning approaches for Sustainability Literacy and Competency (SLC) within nurse education.
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Angela Cartwright (2019) Combating climate change: the view from maternity, 11 July, RCN: London (blog)
Many thanks to Rebecca Gibbs from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Professor Janet Richardson from Plymouth University and Mark Platt (former RCN Policy Manager) for their help with putting this subject guide together.

Books

Rich C R, Singleton J K and Wadhwa S S (2013) Sustainability for healthcare management: a leadership imperative, Florence: Taylor and Francis. Rich C R, Singleton J K and Wadhwa S S (2018) Sustainability for healthcare management: a leadership imperative (2nd edition), Florence: Taylor and Francis.
Schroeder K, Thompson T, Frith K and Pencheon D (2012) Sustainable Healthcare, 1st edn, Somerset: Wiley. Schroeder K, Thompson T, Frith K and Pencheon D (2012) Sustainable healthcare, Somerset: Wiley.
Mohrman S A and Abraham B (2012) Organizing for Sustainable Healthcare, Volume 2, Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Mohrman S A and Abraham B (2012) Organizing for sustainable healthcare, volume 2, Bradford: Emerald.
Akhtar, R. & Palagiano, C. (2018) Climate Change and Air Pollution : The Impact on Human Health in Developed and Developing Countries, Springer: Cham.
Levy B and Patz J (2015) Climate Change and Public Health, New York: Oxford University Press. Levy B and Patz J (2015) Climate change and public health, New York: Oxford University Press.
The New York Times Editorial Staff (2018) Climate Change, Rosen Publishing Group: New York.
Fetzer A V and Aaron S (2010) Climb the green ladder: make your company and career more sustainable, Hoboken: Wiley. Fetzer A V and Aaron S (2010) Climb the green ladder: make your company and career more sustainable, Hoboken: Wiley.
Griffiths J (2009) The health practitioner Griffiths J (2009) The health practitioner's guide to climate change: diagnosis and cure, London: Earthscan.
Gerwig K (2014) Greening health care: how hospitals can heal the planet, Cary: Oxford University Press.

Book subject searches

Use these links to see details of books the RCN libraries hold on each topic.

Journal articles

Use these links to see details of journal articles on each topic.

Sustainable Nursing Practice videos

Barts Health NHS Trust: The power of sustainability.

Barts Health NHS Trust - Cleaner air for East London

Plymouth University: Nursing sustainability by design.

RCN Library staff

Phil Segall

Author of this guide

RCN Library and Archive Services

Page last updated - 14/08/2019

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