Sustainable Health Care: Student perspectives on our new Translational Health Sciences module

About the authors

Louisa Chenciner is a public health doctor with demonstrated experience in climate health, syndemics, and social protection. Louisa’s work spans academia and real-world public health, with a commitment to addressing the intersections between climate change, sustainability and health. Last year, Louisa was awarded an NIHR academic clinical fellowship in public health medicine. She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Personalised Medicine, St Anne’s College, University of Oxford,  whilst working in local government at Oxfordshire County Council and contributing regularly to the on-call rota for health protection at the UK Health Security Agency.

Monika Chowaniec is a doctor currently working in Oxford as part of the Foundation Programme. She is interested in making surgical environments more sustainable and incorporating this topic into medical education curricula as well as into day-to-day clinical practice. She is also currently undertaking an internship at the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS) on sustainable healthcare. 

Ravi Lukha is a Consultant in Public Health Medicine. He currently has two roles in the public and private sector, working as Screening and Immunisations Lead for the Thames Valley area in NHS England, leading the adult screening programmes, as well as Medical Director at Bupa UK Insurance. He is passionate about improving population health outcomes in the things that matter most to patients and populations.  

As healthcare systems worldwide face increasing environmental challenges, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. Health services are also currently a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for around 4.6% of the worldwide total. If they were one country, health systems would be the world’s fifth largest emitter. In response, the MSc in Translational Health Sciences programme has introduced a new Sustainable Health Care module which can be taken as part of the MSc or as a stand-alone course. It is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to address healthcare's environmental impacts.

In this blog, three students—Dr Louisa Chenciner, Dr Monika Chowaniec, and Dr Ravi Lukha—share their experiences from the module. They discuss what motivated them to explore sustainability in healthcare, the diverse insights gained from course discussions, and how the module has influenced their current work. Their reflections provide a glimpse into how sustainability principles are reshaping healthcare education and practice.

Why did you choose to take part in the Sustainable Health Care course? How was your experience?

Louisa: Prior to completing the Sustainable Health Care course, I had a strong commitment to climate change and health. My practice is underpinned by advocacy for those who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation yet experience the worst effects of the climate emergency. Most recently, I co-led the development of the 2023/24 Director of Public Health annual report, which presents climate health impacts across Oxfordshire through resident testimonies and local data, with opportunities identified to maximise health co-benefits of locally-led climate action. Ahead of the course, I was interested to explore new approaches to the field and to engage with the course tutors.  

Monika: I have been interested in sustainability research for some time. I wanted to respond to the challenges in my clinical workplace through the development of evidence-based practical solutions. I found out about the Sustainable Health Care module through a notice in the hospital newsletter - the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration in Thames Valley were offering a grant to support those interested in the course. I applied for this opportunity since I felt that I wanted to develop my theoretical understanding of the topic and so make the greatest impact in my future projects.

The course brought together a community of people with different backgrounds and experiences, who all shared a passion for making healthcare systems more sustainable. This led to a week of inspiring discussions, which continued even into the coffee breaks! A particular highlight of this course was the opportunity to hear from speakers from a variety of disciplines - ranging from more philosophical approaches to those researching AI and the environment, or those involved in medical education.

Ravi: Taking a focussed break from the day jobs and joining the Sustainable Health Care course proved to be an extremely rewarding, professionally enriching and enjoyable week. As someone coming into the course in a clinical leadership position and having undertaken some specific sustainability initiatives within my practice, I was looking to solidify my knowledge base into sustainable health care and how I could further advocate for change within my practice. Through the course I got what I was looking for and much more, learning about the impacts of supply chains, the considerations for health tech, methodologies for carbon footprinting, and more. This was all enriched by being taught by passionate presenters providing tangible examples from the UK’s NHS to Bangladesh and Mexico.  

How has the course impacted your work?

Louisa: The course has had practical and positive impacts on my work. There were opportunities to strengthen my connections with colleagues working locally on climate change and health in Oxford. This made it easier to identify and approach speakers for a climate change and health teaching day that I later helped coordinate, delivered for public health trainees in the region. 

Although the course presented some familiar concepts, I came away refreshed with new knowledge and original perspectives. A highlight of the course for me was an outstanding session by Dr Ana Valdivia who examined the environmental impact of Artificial Intelligence across the supply chain, with ethnographic case studies from Mexico. Sessions led by Dr Francis Mortimer and Dr SanYuMay Tun have also informed how I now communicate with different audiences about sustainability and the NHS.

I am grateful to the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for supporting me to participate in the course. 

Monika: Since completing the course, I decided to continue to pursue research on sustainable healthcare and have now commenced an internship with the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS) group looking at sustainability in surgery. The course improved my confidence not only in terms of critical appraisal of literature and policies, but also on the practical skills of presenting on the topic of sustainable health care and teaching others about it. I hope to share my knowledge with others through organising a Sustainable Health Care teaching programme for Foundation Doctors based in Oxford.  

Ravi: The course has had a great impact on me, firstly reiterating the fundamental lesson that sustainability within healthcare runs through all care that we provide or pay for and not just specific initiatives; this is something I have taken into my practice. Furthermore, joining an extremely diverse and enthusiastic cohort allowed learning from different areas and perspectives of the healthcare system. Everyone’s openness for discussion and debate maximised the course’s potential for learning.  

What advice would you give a prospective student considering the course?

Louisa: Amidst rising climate disinformation, ‘green washing’ and the competing interests of the fossil fuel lobby, ask questions, actively engage in the course sessions and nurture your critical knowledge of climate change, sustainability and health.

Monika: Have the courage to engage in discussions, ask questions and share your experiences throughout the sessions of the module - it is very easy to feel like the least-experienced person in the room, but one of the best aspects of this course is the ability to embrace what we can learn when bringing together a large variety of backgrounds, careers and perspectives.  

Ravi: Jump into the course wholeheartedly and you will reap the rewards. Climate change is such a pressing public health emergency that learnings gained from this course that can be enacted are greater than at an individual level, and this includes upskilling and inspiring colleagues thereafter!