Final words
We are certain that we have not been able to capture all the possibilities and challenges that might present themselves along the way as we seek ‘to ensure that every student beginning entry-level physiotherapy education from 2020 onwards will have education regarding the relationship between the environment, human health and functioning, and how this pertains to physiotherapy as part of their programme.’ We nonetheless hope that the rationale for doing so, the possible directions, the examples for integration into existing curriculum content, the challenges and reservations discussed, and the indicative selection of resources and references will provide inspiration and useful starting points for our creative and collaborative efforts.
We firmly believe that achieving the aim of the EPT Agenda 2023 will enable us to make a greater contribution to planetary health than ever before, especially as we collaborate with our clients and colleagues from other healthcare professions and beyond the healthcare sector. It should be clear that any efforts in environmental physiotherapy, planetary health, sustainable healthcare or similar education inherently imply interdisciplinary, international, cross-generational and cross-cultural engagement from the very start.
Our initial focus on physiotherapy education results only from the sense that, while physiotherapy is one of the largest allied healthcare professions in the world, it is also a relatively well-coordinated and cohesive professional group that might enable us to achieve the aim of the EPT Agenda 2023 as a whole and relatively quickly. Yet we hope that this will also help to further turn the tides in this direction across the healthcare sector and beyond, thus considerably adding to the global mobilisation of efforts to achieve the SDGs and planetary health and wellbeing for all.
In the final instance, the purpose of the EPT Agenda 2023 is to contribute to all of our health, wellbeing and flourishing in a manner that respects and thrives on the inseparable relationship between human health and functioning and our planetary environment.
