What is planetary health?
The Planetary Health Alliance (PHA) defines planetary health as
a solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary field and social movement focused on analyzing and addressing the impacts of human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems on human health and all life on Earth
[Source: PHA website - What is planetary health?]
Why do we need a planetary health glossary?
This educational planetary health glossary defines key concepts in planetary health, providing links to explore concepts further.
We aim to make this glossary free to access, comprehensive, and trusted.
We hope this will be used widely including by the general public, educators, students, researchers, clinicians, journalists, and policy-makers. People new to planetary health can use the glossary to learn more about the field. People established in planetary health can use the glossary in their teaching or in their outputs when defining concepts, such as journal articles.
How to use the glossary
Please note: the glossary is in provisional form until entries have been reviewed and approved (if 'reviewed by' says 'TBC' then the entry has not been reviewed).
Here is an explanation of the sections for each entry and how to use them:
Definition: Defines the term in an accessible way. If you are unfamiliar with a word/phrase, check the 'See also' section as it may be a term in the glossary.
Further reading: These link to external, related resources. The resource title and source are provided, followed by the resource type, such as website or journal article. Where possible, these resources are international/global. We have tried to add resources accessible to people new to planetary health where possible, but some resources may be more advanced (particularly the journal articles).
Related: These are words and phrases related to the term, including synonyms, which help the glossary search work and external search engines to find the glossary. These may inform terms to add to the glossary as we expand the resource.
See also: Provides links to related terms in the glossary, to explore concepts further.
Explore by theme: Collates terms by theme: Challenges, Education, Environmental changes, Health impacts, Organisations & Initiatives, Perspectives, and Solutions.
Drafted by: The original author of the entry.
Reviewed by: The people that reviewed/edited/approved the entry.
How to cite the glossary
Please note: the glossary is in provisional form until entries have been reviewed and approved (if 'reviewed by' says 'TBC' then the entry has not been reviewed).
The glossary and its contents are licensed as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) meaning:
- Non-commercial use: You are free to share the glossary and its contents for non-commercial, educational purposes
- Attribution: You must provide an attribution, which credits the source (see suggested citation below), provides the licence information (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and includes a link to https://phg.rcpe.ac.uk/
- No derivatives: You cannot share altered, adapted or transformed content from the glossary
If you use the glossary in your work or presentations, please cite the glossary website.
Suggested citation: Graham, C.J., et al. (n.d.). Planetary Health Glossary. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. https://phg.rcpe.ac.uk/
Glossary development
The glossary is led by Chris Graham, Digital Education Manager at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), a PHA Member Organization. The glossary is Chris's project for his Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) Scholar year.
The aim is for the glossary to be community-sourced, meaning diverse contributors with relevant expertise contribute to glossary development.
Acknowledgements
With thanks to all contributors (see each glossary entry), RCPE staff (Natasha Armstrong, Peter Falconer, Dr Mary Fraser, Dr Charlotte Holmes, George Tait), Dr Kerri Baker (RCPE Dean of Education & Co-Dean of Training) the University of Edinburgh MSc Planetary Health Co-Directors (Prof Liz Grant and Dr Rowan Jackson), the HLA community, and the PHA.