THE ROLE OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE IN REDUCING, REUSING AND RECYCLING WASTE IN HEALTHCARE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS

摘要

The volume of waste produced by healthcare providers in the Western world is a major contributor to climate change. Efforts to reduce healthcare waste have included a range of strategies aimed at changing behaviour at the organisational and individual level. Some of these strategies have been evaluated; however limited evidence highlighting the role of behaviour change in minimising healthcare waste is available. It has been suggested that the gap between an individual's knowledge of climate change and their actions is complex, and researchers are beginning to apply theories and models of behaviour change from other areas within psychology to the issue of climate change. This is particularly relevant for the large carbon footprint of healthcare providers such as the UK National Health Service, because if successful strategies can be found to reduce it, then the NHS will not only decrease its environmental impact, but could benefit from savings of approximately ￡180 million. Therefore it is essential that strategies which motivate behaviour change are investigated to find ways in which healthcare organisations can effectively and increasingly reduce, reuse and recycle waste.