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IT IS easy to imagine that climate change isn’t a problem in health care. Individual doctors hold personal opinions on the proposed Adani mine in Queensland or on the importance of health care sustainability practice, but whether climate change affects health and the practice of medicine can seem murkier.
It is easy for busy doctors to be distracted by the sea of patients waiting to be seen in emergency departments, in clinic waiting rooms, the referrals for consultations, procedures and follow-up all mounting up in the office. Good medicine involves attention to the patient and their concerns. So, is there time for climate change in this?
Climate change creeps into the consulting room in all sorts of ways. There are the obvious issues – caring for farmers during drought is always a humbling lesson in the power of nature, and how we have no control over the weather. Much is written about drought and farmers’ health: deterioration in hypertension control with stress, the neglect of self-care and the issues with overwork, fatigue and injuries. Suicide is more common among male farmers during drought. Community resources and coping capacity are often sorely tested by protracted drought with obvious effects on local health and wellbeing.
Read the full article by Dr Arnagretta Hunter in the Medical Journal of Australia.