title: A Survey of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Regarding Environmental Attitudes, Knowledge, and Organization.
abstract: Our planet is in the midst of an environmental crisis. Government and international agencies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urge radical and transformative change at every level of how we conduct our personal and professional lives. The health care industry contributes to climate change. According to a study from the University of Chicago, the health care sector accounts for 8% of the United States' total greenhouse gas emissions. In an effort to understand the current state of environmental practice, attitudes, and knowledge among anesthesiologists in the United States, we conducted a survey of American anesthesiologists regarding environmental sustainability. The environmental survey was sent out by e-mail to a random sampling of 5200 members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. This process was repeated a second time. A total of 2189 anesthesiologists of 5200 responded to the survey, a 42% response rate. Of the survey respondents, 80.1% (confidence interval, 78.2%-81.9%) were interested in recycling. Respondents reported recycling in 27.7% of operating rooms where they work. The majority of respondents (67%; confidence interval, 64%-69%) reported there was insufficient information on how to recycle intraoperatively. Respondents supported sustainability practices such as reprocessing equipment, using prefilled syringes, and donating unused equipment and supplies. The affirmative response rate was 48.4% for reprocessing equipment, 56.6% for using prefilled syringes, and 65.1% for donating equipment and supplies to medical missions. Questions about hospital-wide organization of sustainability programs elicited many "I don't know" responses. Eighteen percent of responders indicated the presence of a sustainability or "green" task force. A total of 12.6% of responders indicated the presence of a mandate from hospital leadership to promote sustainability programs. Two important conclusions drawn from the survey data are a lack of hospital-wide organization of sustainability programs and a belief among survey responders that they lack adequate information on recycling and sustainability.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Anesthesiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York; †Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California; ‡Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Cognitive Neurology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York; §Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; and ‖Milford Anesthesia Associates, Milford, Connecticut.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ard
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: Tessa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huncke
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000072080:Anesthesiologists / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D057231:Climate Change; D019550:Environmental Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D059027:Recycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States