[Environmental impact of Emergency Services in Public Health: an assessment tool.] / Impacto medioambiental de los servicios de Urgencias en la Salud Pública: una herramienta de valoración.

OBJECTIVE: Climate change is directly related to increasing medical conditions such as cardiovascular, respiratory and/or infectious diseases, as well as malnutrition and mental illness caused by the reduction of available food and the growth of situations with significant emotional impact, respectively. Evidence showed that healthcare services are responsible for 4-5% of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The aim of this study is the development of an assessment tool to evaluate the carbon footprint of emergency departments. METHODS: The development of the proposed assessment tool followed five stages. Firstly, the categories of GHGs to be included in the assessment tool were determined through a literature review. This was followed by establishment of scopes and boundaries, selection of conversion factors, collection of data from the Emergency Department at the Royal Free Hospital in London as a pilot site, and finally, the development of methodology to assess the carbon footprint. RESULTS: The assessment tool was divided in three scopes and each scope included one or more categories containing several items. Data was collected from different sources such as meters invoicing and billing, auditing, and surveys. The tool is presented in a Microsoft Excel document. CONCLUSIONS: This carbon assessment tool offers an opportunity to monitor carbon emissions in emergency departments, aiming to proliferate environmental strategies. The assessment tool seeks to provide a baseline carbon footprint assessment, identifying carbon hotspots within the department. The identification of these areas of intensive carbon emissions can help guide and focus local environmental initiatives that later can be monitored with a follow-up assessment to evaluate their effectiveness.

OBJETIVO: El cambio climático está directamente relacionado con el aumento de ciertas patologías como enfermedades cardiovasculares, respiratorias y/o infecciosas, así como con la desnutrición, provocada por la reducción de los alimentos disponibles, y el deterioro de la salud mental. La evidencia ha señalado que los servicios sanitarios son responsables del 4%-5% de las emisiones de gases efecto invernadero en todo el mundo. El objetivo de este estudio fue diseñar una herramienta de evaluación de la huella de carbono de los servicios de Urgencias. METODOS: Se diseñó la herramienta a través de cinco etapas. En primer lugar, se seleccionaron las categorías a incluir en la herramienta desde una revisión de la literatura. Posteriormente, se determinaron el alcance y límites, se seleccionaron los factores de conversión, se recopilaron datos del servicio de Urgencias del Royal Free Hospital de Londres como sitio piloto y se seleccionó el método de cálculo de la huella de carbono. RESULTADOS: La herramienta resultante se dividió en tres ámbitos, y cada ámbito en una o más categorías que contienen varios elementos. Los datos se recopilaron de diferentes fuentes, como facturación, medidores, auditorías y encuestas. La herramienta se presentó en un documento de Microsoft Excel. CONCLUSIONES: Esta herramienta de evaluación de carbono ofrece una oportunidad para monitorear las emisiones de carbono en los servicios de Urgencias. Pretende proporcionar una valoración de la huella de carbono de referencia, identificando puntos críticos de emisión dentro del servicio, que puede dar lugar a iniciativas ambientales locales.

Impacto medioambientalde los servicios de Urgenciasen la Salud Pública: una herramienta de valoración / Carbon footprinting the Emergency Departments in the United Kingdom: an assessment too

FUNDAMENTOS: El cambio climático está directamente relacionado con el aumento de ciertas patologías como enfermedadescardiovasculares, respiratorias y/o infecciosas, así como con la desnutrición, provocada por la reducción de los alimentos disponibles,y el deterioro de la salud mental. La evidencia ha señalado que los servicios sanitarios son responsables del 4%-5% de las emisionesde gases efecto invernadero en todo el mundo. El objetivo de este estudio fue diseñar una herramienta de evaluación de la huella decarbono de los servicios de Urgencias.MÉTODOS: Se diseñó la herramienta a través de cinco etapas. En primer lugar, se seleccionaron las categorías a incluir en laherramienta desde una revisión de la literatura. Posteriormente, se determinaron el alcance y límites, se seleccionaron los factoresde conversión, se recopilaron datos del servicio de Urgencias del Royal Free Hospital de Londres como sitio piloto y se seleccionó elmétodo de cálculo de la huella de carbono.RESULTADOS: La herramienta resultante se dividió en tres ámbitos, y cada ámbito en una o más categorías que contienen varioselementos. Los datos se recopilaron de diferentes fuentes, como facturación, medidores, auditorías y encuestas. La herramienta sepresentó en un documento de Microsoft Excel.CONCLUSIONES: Esta herramienta de evaluación de carbono ofrece una oportunidad para monitorear las emisiones de carbonoen los servicios de Urgencias. Pretende proporcionar una valoración de la huella de carbono de referencia, identificando puntoscríticos de emisión dentro del servicio, que puede dar lugar a iniciativas ambientales locales.PALABRAS CLAVE: Huella de carbono; Emisiones de gases efecto invernadero; Servicios de Urgencias; Evaluación del ciclo devida; Impacto medioambiental.(AU)

BACKGROUND: Climate change is directly related to increasing medical conditions such as cardiovascular, respiratory and/or infectious diseases, as well as malnutrition and mental illness caused by the reduction of available food and the growth of situations with significant emotional impact, respectively. Evidence showed that healthcare services are responsible for 4-5% of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The aim of this study is the development of an assessment tool to evaluate the carbon footprint ofemergency departments.METHODS: The development of the proposed assessment tool followed five stages. Firstly, the categories of GHGs to be included in the assessment tool were determined through a literature review. This was followed by establishment of scopes and boundaries, selection of conversion factors, collection of data from the Emergency Department at the Royal Free Hospital in London as a pilot site, and finally, the development of methodology to assess the carbon footprint.RESULTS : The assessment tool was divided in three scopes and each scope included one or more categories containing several items. Data was collected from different sources such as meters invoicing and billing, auditing, and surveys. The tool is presented in a Microsoft Excel document.CONCLUSIONS : This carbon assessment tool offers an opportunity to monitor carbon emissions in emergency departments, aiming to proliferate environmental strategies. The assessment tool seeks to provide a baseline carbon footprint assessment, identifying carbon hotspots within the department. The identification of these areas of intensive carbon emissions can help guide and focuslocal environmental initiatives that later can be monitored with a follow-up assessment to evaluate their effectiveness.KEYWORDS: Carbon footprint; Greenhouse gases emissions; Emergency departments; Life cycle assessment; Environmental impact.(AU)

The carbon footprint of healthcare settings: A systematic review.

Healthcare systems are responsible for 4%-5% of the emissions of greenhouse gases worldwide. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol divides carbon emissions into three scopes: scope 1 or direct emissions secondary to energy use; scope 2 or indirect emissions secondary to purchased electricity; and scope 3 for the rest of indirect emissions. AIM: To describe the environmental impact of health services. DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted in the Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases. Studies that focused their analysis on a functional healthcare unit and which included. This review was conducted from August to October 2022. RESULTS: The initial electronic search yielded a total of 4368 records. After the screening process according to the inclusion criteria, 13 studies were included in this review. The reviewed studies found that between 15% and 50% of the total emissions corresponded to scopes 1 and 2 emissions, whereas scope 3 emissions ranged between 50% and 75% of the total emissions. Disposables, equipment (medical and non-medical) and pharmaceuticals represented the higher percentage of emissions in scope 3. CONCLUSION: Most of the emissions corresponded to scope 3, which includes the indirect emission occurring as a consequence of the healthcare activity, as this scope includes a wider range of emission sources than the other scopes. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Interventions should be carried out by the healthcare organizations responsible of Greenhouse Gas emissions, and also every single individual that integrates them should make changes. The use of evidence-based approaches to identify carbon hotspots and implement the most effective interventions in the healthcare setting could lead to a significant reduction of carbon emissions. IMPACT: This literature review highlights the impact that healthcare systems have on climate change and the importance of adopting and carrying out interventions to prevent its fast development. REPORTING METHOD: This review adhered to PRISMA guideline. PRISMA 2020 is a guideline designed for systematic reviews of studies that analyse the effects of heath interventions, and aim is to help authors improve the reporting of systematic review and meta-analyses. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.

Anxiety and fear of COVID-19 in the UK general population: A cross-sectional study.

There is still a generalized feeling of uncertainty in the population due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as restrictions on daily routines and social contact, accompanied by a large number of infections, negatively affect different areas of people's lives and, therefore, their mental health. The aim of the present study was to assess the presence of anxiety and fear of COVID-19 in the general UK population, using the Anxiety and Fear to COVID-19 Assessment Scale (Ansiedad y Miedo al COVID-19) (AMICO) scale. A descriptive, cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire was conducted in a sample of the UK general population in 2021. Socio-demographic and employment variables were included. The AMICO scale was included to measure fear and anxiety about COVID-19. The relationship between variables was studied with a categorical regression analysis. In general, participants regarded themselves as well-informed about the pandemic, although 62.6% had only received 1 dose of the vaccine. Regarding the AMICO scale the total score was 4.85 (out of 10; standard deviation 2.398). Women showed higher scores for the AMICO than men. The bivariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences in relation to self-confidence, amount of information received, and vaccination variables as related to the mean AMICO scores. An average level of anxiety and fear of COVID-19 is shown in the general UK population, which is lower than most of the studies that assessed the impact of the pandemic on the general population.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Engagement of UK Active Employees.

The objective of this investigation was to describe the work engagement perceived by UK workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample included 1085 participants, aged 18 years and older, living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, who were active workers. Data were collected using an online questionnaire and the UWES-9. They were analysed using descriptive statistics, a t-test for equality of means or ANOVA, and the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection method. The mean value in the UWES-9 was 3.46 (SD = 1.11). Participants with lower satisfaction (21.8%) gave significantly low or very low UWES-9 scores in 58.5% of the cases. Greater work engagement was obtained with more resources and less conflict, risk, and stress. In cases where there had been contact with COVID-19, this was associated with slightly lower levels of work engagement. These results could motivate and guide companies to adopt risk prevention measures and protocols to return to normal working conditions after the initial crisis phase of the pandemic.