The Climate Crisis Needs Palliative Care Leaders
In an editorial published in eHospice, Hospice and Palliative Professionals for Planetary Health (HP3H) co-founders Jill Denny, MD and Erik Carlson, MD, MPH, along with colleagues, argue that hospice and palliative care professionals are uniquely positioned to lead on the climate crisis. Drawing on their training in sitting with suffering, uncertainty, and grief, the authors note that climate change disproportionately affects people with serious illness, worsening symptom burden, disrupting access to care, and more, and call on palliative care clinicians to integrate climate-conscious practices and advocate for sustainable healthcare systems. Drs. Denny and Carlson previously explored this intersection in a CAPC blog post.