[MA 2023 32] Bridging the Gap: Harnessing Data to Transform Healthcare professionals' Climate Views into Actionable Healthcare Strategies
Department of Public & Occupational Health, in close collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC Center for Sustainable Healthcare
Proposed by: Lisanne Kouwenberg [l.h.j.a.kouwenberg@amsterdamumc.nl]
Title
Bridging the Gap: Harnessing Data to Transform Healthcare professionals' Climate Views into Actionable Healthcare Strategies
Place of the SRP Project
Department of Public & Occupational Health, in close collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC Center for Sustainable Healthcare
Introduction
Climate change poses a significant threat to public health worldwide. Healthcare also contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that 7.3% of the Dutch carbon footprint is caused by the healthcare sector. Which hospital care has the largest impact, and should be prioritized for climate mitigation efforts, remains to be researched.
Description of the SRP Project/Problem
We are offering a unique research internship on healthcare sustainability. The goal is twofold. i) to assist in the analysis of healthcare professionals' perceptions of opportunities (or 'hot spots') for mitigating the climate impact of hospital care pathways, in collaboration with the research team that is currently collecting these perceptions; and ii) to develop a method or model to assess these perceptions and link them by using real-life data. This method/model is the initial step in creating a mechanism for prioritizing improvement opportunities based on specialized feedback.
Rationale for the project: There are various methods for determining the environmental impact of care pathways, but many care pathways remain to be researched, thus leaving hotspots relevant for climate mitigation to be identified. Applying methodologies from environmental sciences, such as Lifecycle Assessment, takes a significant amount of time and effort, whereas healthcare professionals may be able to assist in the identification and prioritization of improvement initiatives by providing their insights on where the most climate benefits can be realized. As a result, our research team is now gathering qualitative data on these perceptions in the Netherlands through focus groups and interviews. This proposal describes the next phase, which is to analyze the perceptions and determine how they might be used as input for making sound decisions about where to focus efforts to reduce the environmental effect of care pathways.
We are searching for a student that enjoys puzzles and is willing to cooperate with the research team while bringing in their own ideas with some innovation.
You will work in the Department of Public and Occupational Health at Amsterdam UMC, in close collaboration with the Amsterdam UMC Center for Sustainable Healthcare. There is also the option to extend the scientific internship by publishing a scientific article.
Research questions
What is the perception of healthcare professionals on care pathways with a high climate impact and specific improvement areas to focus on for mitigating climate impact in hospitals? How can these perceptions be assessed and interpreted by using real-life data in order to feed decision making on where to focus improvement efforts for mitigating climate impact of care pathways? How do healthcare professionals’ perceptions on hotspots for mitigating climate impact change when they gain additional insight from quantitative data related to their perceptions? Is it feasible to use healthcare professional’s perceptions to find the most carbon-intensive care pathways and influence decision making on where to focus efforts for future mitigation actions?
Expected results
- interpretation of healthcare professional’s perceptions on focus areas for mitigating climate change (overview of care pathways and/or elements of care pathways)
- assessment approach (data-driven) for evaluating perceptions
- preliminary findings of applying assessment approach (incl. reactions from healthcare professionals and how the assessment influences their (previous) perceptions
- suggestions for further development of a model/approach for prioritizing improvement actions based on healthcare professionals’ perceptions
Time period
o May - November
Contact
Lisanne Kouwenberg (l.h.j.a.kouwenberg@amsterdamumc.nl )