Hospital sustainability indicators and reduction of socio-environmental impacts: a scoping review.
Daniela Menezes Galvão, Marta Regina Cezar-Vaz, Daiani Modernel Xavier and 2 others
PMID 37366602WHAT IT FOUND
Hospitals cut waste and energy use by switching to reusable equipment, fixing airflow, and training staff on segregation.
These operational changes reduce environmental impact and save money, though the review did not assess the quality of the evidence behind each study.
Key findings
01Educational interventions and routine changes in medication processes reduced chemical, infectious, and sharps waste by 74.8%.
02A continuing education program on recycling in two Canadian hospitals led to a 48% reduction in waste sent to landfill.
03Replacing disposable items with reusable ones, such as gel pads and bedpans, generated significant cost savings and reduced waste volume.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review did not assess the quality or risk of bias of the included studies, so the strength of evidence for each intervention is unknown. Most included studies were quantitative and often focused on cost savings as a proxy for environmental benefit, which may not capture the full ecological picture. The findings are drawn from diverse hospital settings, so practices like switching to reusable equipment may not be directly transferable to all clinical environments without local validation.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict of interest statements were provided in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that switching to reusable equipment is always environmentally better. One study found reusable central venous catheter kits had higher environmental costs than disposables because of the hospital's reliance on brown coal energy. Local infrastructure matters.