A narrative review of the current available literature on the intersection between the climate crisis and paediatric surgical care
link.springer.com shows its articles on its own site.
Read the article on link.springer.com ↗Article · Nov 2024 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
This narrative review examines the limited research on climate change's impact on pediatric surgical care, identifying only seven relevant articles published after 2020. The authors find current literature focuses primarily on quantifying environmental impact rather than addressing climate justice and health inequities, advocating for a syndemic approach that considers the interconnected pathways between climate crisis, healthcare systems, and disparities in pediatric surgical outcomes.
- Only 7 of 151 articles addressed climate change and pediatric surgery, indicating a critical research gap in this intersection.
- Current research focuses on quantifying environmental impact rather than addressing climate justice and health equity disparities.
- Climate crisis creates a vicious cycle by exacerbating existing health inequities in pediatric surgical populations.
- A syndemic model approach is needed to address interconnections between climate, health inequities, and surgical care systems.
- All identified literature was published after 2020, suggesting this is an emerging field requiring urgent research attention.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
The climate crisis exacerbates health inequities, including in paediatric surgery, creating a vicious cycle. We sought to review (a) existing evidence on the connection between paediatric surgery and climate and (b) how this addresses the vicious cycle. A PubMed search was conducted on 23-08-2023. Articles not commenting on "climate change" and "paediatric surgery" were excluded. Included papers were categorised into emerging themes. Out of 151 search results, seven articles were included. The emerging themes related to "Effect of climate on paediatric surgical illness" (n = 3), "Effect of surgery on climate" (n = 2), and "Mitigating impact of paediatric surgery" (n = 2). Five articles were observational studies, and two were literature reviews, all papers published after 2020. We found limited primary research focusing on the intersection between climate change and paediatric surgery. Articles tend to focus on quantifying impact and mitigation, which does not lend itself to climate justice. The syndemic model of health focuses on the complex interconnections and pathways through which health conditions interact within populations to exacerbate adverse health outcomes. We suggest future research needs to be reframed, with the interconnection between health inequities, the climate crisis, and the wider health system addressed together.