In 2022 AFINO and NTNU Health joined forces to develop an innovative project to promote sustainable health in Norway. For decades the financial sustainability of modern healthcare system has stirred wave after wave of healthcare reform, without solving the problem. The social sustainability of the western approach to health is also increasingly questioned: satisfaction with the healthcare system is declining, job satisfaction among nurses and doctors is deteriorating, health inequities are persistent, chronic diseases and lifestyle diseases are on the rise and mental health issues looms larger than ever. Finally, in the face of the threats of climate change and chemical pollution, reducing carbon emissions and toxic waste is imperative, and yet the health sector has not yet begun to reverse the trend of increasing dangerous emissions. Sustainability in the health sector may well seem a mirage. So, how can we cultivate reasonable hope?

We want to plant seeds of change, from which new patterns of sustainability may grow. We want to try new paths that may usher a better future. We are acting on two different levels and hence the project has two tiers.

Facilitating sustainability-oriented research
In 2022 NTNU funded 13 PhD projects in sustainable healthcare and medical research. After having organised a workshop in September 2022 to help prospective applicants to think about sustainability, we are now offering our support to honour their commitment to sustainability.
Read more about our plan and methods.
 

Rethinking health in society
Health is personal, just as much as it is social and political. Rethinking the social commitment to health is as ambitious as it is necessary to achieve sustainable healthy futures. But what are healthy futures? This is the real question. If you wonder how we are going tackle it, read more.