British Columbia pharmacists’ perceptions on climate change and environmental sustainability

Background: Health care contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and planetary health. While pharmacists are well-placed to address these issues, there is limited information on their views. The objective of the study was to assess the perspectives of pharmacists in British Columbia (BC) and their capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Methods: BC pharmacists were surveyed using an online, cross-sectional questionnaire with 7 sections: demographics, climate beliefs, risk perception, perceived health impacts, health care roles, willingness to act, current practices, and barriers. Results: Two hundred forty-four pharmacists completed the survey. The majority of respondents (84%; 201/240) believed climate change is occurring; 21% (51/244) deemed it an “extremely important” issue. Heat-related illnesses were identified as having the greatest impact on patient health by 75% (182/243) of the respondents, with 79% (182/230) expecting this trend to persist. While 76% (185/243) agreed or strongly agreed that pharmacists are well-placed to assist their communities with climate solutions, the most common barriers were: inadequate training and information (72%; 172/239), lack of time (53%; 127/238), lack of authority to make change (48%; 112/235), and staff attitudes (47%; 114/241). Despite this, 49% (118/242) of pharmacists are willing to discuss medication-related environmental impacts with patients, 63% (153/243) are willing to adapt a prescription to reduce carbon emissions, and 59% (147/238) already recommend lower carbon alternatives, when appropriate. Discussion and conclusions: Participants acknowledged the threat of climate change and were willing to make changes and promote climate solutions. However, barriers exist and must be addressed to facilitate change.