Navigating the Evolving Sustainability Landscape in Healthcare

Dear Colleagues,

The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that there is still a continuing need to improve health and care services in terms of accessibility and outcomes (Khatana and Groeneveld, 2020). Despite significant investments by governments and healthcare organizations, many initiatives fail to sustain and do not produce long term benefits (Coles et al., 2017; Stirman et al., 2012).

In the current climate of rising demand for healthcare services, changing priorities, and shortage of resources, there is a need to realize how sustainability can be attained (Punnakitikashem and Hallinger, 2020). However, despite recognition of this challenge and research conducted in this area (e.g., Braithwaite et al., 2017; Crespo-Gonzalez et al., 2017; De Rosis and Nuti, 2018; Chambers et al., 2013; Lennox et al., 2018), relatively little progress was made in supporting the long-term impact of improvement efforts (Lennox et al., 2017). In fact, this understudied area has been identified as one of the most significant translational research problems (Shelton et al., 2018).

The lack of evidence-based consensus on how to define sustainability in healthcare is also contributing to this conundrum, leading to a debate on what qualifies as sustained improvement in healthcare (Moore et al., 2017). Traditionally, sustainability in this domain has been viewed as an ‘outcome’, expressed in terms of well-being, patient satisfaction, etc. (Stirman et al., 2012). In recent years, a never-ending continuous striving for improvement has also been recognized as a potential definition of sustainability (Moore et al., 2017; Saviano et al., 2018). This conceptualization of sustainability as a ‘process’ rather than merely an ‘outcome’ integrates notions of continuous development, learning, and adaptation. It also allows sustainability to be viewed as a change process and a component in a complex adaptive system responding to the needs and goals of the organization (Shigayeva and Coker, 2015). Some researchers in this area evaluate sustainability in healthcare by examining corporate social responsibility and various environmental factors, such as waste, water, carbon footprint, and pollution in the design and management of healthcare facilities (e.g., Daú et al., 2019; Senay and Landrigan, 2018). Sustainability from a clinical perspective means allocating available resources appropriately (both human and material resources) and considering the health and well-being of healthcare personnel (Hamouche, 2020; López-Cabarcos et al., 2020).

For this Special Issue, we are interested in research that investigates sustainability approaches, as well as develops a sustainability knowledge base. The Special Issue will examine different sustainability aspects to support healthcare organizations and researchers to better understand the various perspectives, applications, and constructs within approaches guiding healthcare sustainability initiatives. We are looking for research that can benefit both practitioners and academicians.

Suggested Topics for Submissions:

We welcome experimental and theoretical research on various sustainability aspects. Research may employ a myriad of research design methods, including, but not limited to, multivariate regression analysis, machine learning, in-depth case studies, system change approach or policy-oriented research.

Areas of interest include, but are certainly not limited to:

• Promoting human well-being and public health;
• Patient satisfaction;
• The healthcare employee safety;
• Continuous improvement;
• Corporate social responsibility;
• Promoting responsible use of natural resources;
• Green practices in healthcare;
• Waste disposal and cost;
• Emerging technologies and innovative models of care;
• Ecological impact of healthcare;
• Equipment efficiency and recyclability;
• The impact of COVID-19 on sustainability efforts;
• Carbon footprint of the health sector;
• Blockchain in the healthcare ecosystem;
• Sustainable healthcare performance evaluation;
• Ethical dimensions of sustainable healthcare;
• Sustainability for healthcare through digital technologies;
• Sustainability in design and management of healthcare facilities;

References

1. Braithwaite, J., Testa, L., Lamprell, G., Herkes, J., Ludlow, K., McPherson, E., Campbell, M. and Holt, J., 2017. Built to last? The sustainability of health system improvements, interventions and change strategies: a study protocol for a systematic review. BMJ open, 7(11), p.e018568.
2. Chambers, D.A., Glasgow, R.E. and Stange, K.C., 2013. The dynamic sustainability framework: addressing the paradox of sustainment amid ongoing change. Implementation Science, 8(1), pp.1-11.
3. Coles, E., Wells, M., Maxwell, M., Harris, F.M., Anderson, J., Gray, N.M., Milner, G. and MacGillivray, S., 2017. The influence of contextual factors on healthcare quality improvement initiatives: what works, for whom and in what setting? Protocol for a realist review. Systematic reviews, 6(1), pp.1-10.
4. Crespo-Gonzalez, C., Garcia-Cardenas, V. and Benrimoj, S.I., 2017. The next phase in professional services research: From implementation to sustainability. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 13(5), pp.896-901.
5. Daú, G., Scavarda, A., Scavarda, L.F. and Portugal, V.J.T., 2019. The healthcare sustainable supply chain 4.0: The circular economy transition conceptual framework with the corporate social responsibility mirror. Sustainability, 11(12), p.3259.
6. De Rosis, S. and Nuti, S., 2018. Public strategies for improving eHealth integration and long‐term sustainability in public health care systems: Findings from an Italian case study. The International journal of health planning and management, 33(1), pp.e131-e152.
7. Hamouche, S., 2020. COVID-19 and employees’ mental health: stressors, moderators and agenda for organizational actions. Emerald Open Research, 2.
8. Khatana, S.A.M. and Groeneveld, P.W., 2020. Health disparities and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the USA. Journal of general internal medicine, 35, pp.2431-2432.
9. Lennox, L., Maher, L. and Reed, J., 2018. Navigating the sustainability landscape: a systematic review of sustainability approaches in healthcare. Implementation Science, 13(1), pp.1-17.
10. Lennox, L., Doyle, C., Reed, J.E. and Bell, D., 2017. What makes a sustainability tool valuable, practical and useful in real-world healthcare practice? A mixed-methods study on the development of the Long Term Success Tool in Northwest London. BMJ open, 7(9), p.e014417.
11. López-Cabarcos, M., López-Carballeira, A. and Ferro-Soto, C., 2020. New ways of working and public healthcare professionals’ well-being: The response to face the covid-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 12(19), p.8087.
12. Moore, J.E., Mascarenhas, A., Bain, J. and Straus, S.E., 2017. Developing a comprehensive definition of sustainability. Implementation Science, 12(1), pp.1-8.
13. Punnakitikashem, P. and Hallinger, P., 2020. Bibliometric review of the knowledge base on healthcare management for sustainability, 1994–2018. Sustainability, 12(1), p.205.
14. Saviano, M., Bassano, C., Piciocchi, P., Di Nauta, P. and Lettieri, M., 2018. Monitoring viability and sustainability in healthcare organizations. Sustainability, 10(10), p.3548.
15. Senay, E. and Landrigan, P.J., 2018. Assessment of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility reporting by large health care organizations. JAMA network open, 1(4), pp.e180975-e180975.
16. Shelton, R.C., Cooper, B.R. and Stirman, S.W., 2018. The sustainability of evidence-based interventions and practices in public health and health care. Annual review of public health, 39, pp.55-76.
17. Shigayeva, A. and Coker, R.J., 2015. Communicable disease control programmes and health systems: an analytical approach to sustainability. Health Policy and Planning, 30(3), pp.368-385.
18. Stirman, S.W., Kimberly, J., Cook, N., Calloway, A., Castro, F. and Charns, M., 2012. The sustainability of new programs and innovations: a review of the empirical literature and recommendations for future research. Implementation science, 7(1), pp.1-19.

Dr. Germán G. Creamer
Dr. Tal Ben-Zvi
Guest Editors

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• green healthcare
• sustainable healthcare
• ESG investment
• blockchain in healthcare
• machine learning in healthcare
• healthcare carbon footprints
• COVID-19 on sustainability
• sustainability of healthcare facilities