Climate change and health: Opinions of general practitioners and patients in French Polynesia
Type de matériel :
99
Context. Climate change (CC) is a threat to global health. The opinions of general practitioners (GP) and patients in French Polynesia on the link between CC and health are unknown. Objectives.The main objective was to describe GPs’ and patients’ views on CC and its impacts on health. The secondary objective was to study the possible role of GPs in addressing CC. Methods. The study area includes the islands of Tahiti and Moorea in French Polynesia. A total of sixty-four randomly selected GPs practicing in surgeries or free clinics were sent a paper survey. In seven randomly selected general practices and free clinics, 114 patients were interviewed using the paper survey. The GP and patient surveys were taken from an English-language study and translated into French. Results. A total of forty-eight GP surveys (75%) and ninety patient surveys (79%) were analyzed. Most patients (53%) said they had never thought about the link between CC and health. They said that they have high trust in their GP (83%) but only 13% of them had ever talked about environmental health with their doctor. Among GPs, 56% felt that current and future CC is relevant to primary care. They anticipated a significant increase in the impact of CC on seven out of nine climate-sensitive diseases over the next 10–20 years. Meanwhile, 46% of GPs thought that they should play an active role in addressing CC with their patients and 44% had no opinion. Conclusion. GPs in Tahiti and Moorea and their patients are concerned about the health impacts of CC but do not talk about this topic in a medical setting. A qualitative method would enable us to explore the views of GPs and patients on the links between CC and health.
Réseaux sociaux