Patients’ perspectives on ecologically sustainable healthcare in general practice

Background Healthcare contributes substantially to climate change. GPs want to implement sustainable healthcare, but are hesitant; worried that this may jeopardise their doctor-patient relationship. However, whether this concern is valid should urgently be assessed.

Aim To explore patients’ perspectives on sustainable healthcare in general practice.

Design & setting In 2022 and 2023 we performed an online study; participants were Dutch adults; using experimental vignettes and a questionnaire.

Method The vignettes described GP appointments for three health complaints with randomly allocated treatment advice, varying in sustainability and explanation, but with comparable health outcomes. The questionnaire assessed participants’ perspectives on sustainable healthcare in general practice. We analysed the vignettes using mixed-design ANOVA and the questionnaire using descriptive statistics and correlations.

Results 801 participants completed the vignettes, and 397 the questionnaire. We found no difference on satisfaction with a doctor’s visit (P’s>.238) when comparing a sustainable and a less-sustainable treatment option. The effect of explicitly mentioning sustainability differed per health complaint (dyspnoea: no difference; knee pain: MD=.319, P=.002; erythema: MD=-.227, P=.003). In the questionnaire, participants reported positive expectations, and trust in the GP and treatment when delivering sustainable healthcare, but were more neutral about the GPs’ role.

Conclusion We found no indication that sustainable treatment advice leads to lower satisfaction with GP care. The effect of explicitly mentioning sustainability was minimal and differed per health complaint. When directly asked, participants were mainly positive about sustainable healthcare. These results could encourage GPs to introduce sustainable treatment advice, without worrying about negatively influencing patient satisfaction.