Preventive healthcare, which generally decreases the need for medical treatment, is one of the levers for reducing healthcare’s environmental impact. Implementing preventive measures requires a global approach. This goes beyond the “disease” model, and simultaneously considers individual health, population health, and global/planetary health, from a systemic perspective that takes into account uncertainty and long term considerations. To tackle this challenge, we need to encourage dialogue and cross-fertilization of viewpoints, particularly among the three healthcare organization levels (micro level and its “health referent” function, meso level of catchment areas at which primary healthcare provision and its coordination with hospitals are established, macro level at which a country’s healthcare policies are defined). Sustainable development, prevention, and healthcare share numerous observations: we need to change our mindset, and in particular make more room for dialogue, deliberation, and uncertainty.
Keywords
Preventive healthcare