In the Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, health professions programs have been implementing the SDGs in various ways across their curricula. In this session, four academics present their take on sustainability and the SDGs.
Professor Michelle McLean advocates for integrating Planetary Health into health professions programs, preparing professionals for climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and advocating for all inhabitants of the planet. Health professionals will need to practice sustainable healthcare but should also engage in environmental restoration for a sustainable future.
Associate Professor Neelam Maheshwari will discuss how Australian healthcare contributes significantly to the nation's carbon footprint, especially through surgical waste. Her research has quantified surgical waste, finding significant contributions to emissions. It highlights several concerning waste disposal practices and proposes measures including the “5Rs” principle to mitigate waste and reduce surgery’s carbon footprint.
Professor Susan Brandis is an occupational and serves on a number of World Federation for Occupational Therapy working groups. She will present how services like primary health, rehabilitation and community care, i.e., NDIS, can impact sustainability. By promoting wellness models and encouraging better use of natural resources we can achieve better outcomes for all.
Pathogens cause diseases by entering our bodies through direct human contact, animals, insects, and environmental vehicles like water and air. Climate changes affect pathogen transmission and behaviour of vectors such as mosquitoes. Associate Professor Kazi Rahman will cover vector-borne (insect transmitted) diseases in Australia like Ross River virus, Japanese encephalitis, and the interesting mode of transmission of the climate-influenced zoonotic disease Q-fever.
Meeting Location:BLD05_3_25