Circular economy as a learning necessity in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Health

Abstract

Introduction: Education is central to building a different world. Learning about the circular economy transforms people, helps us think and change everyday realities with reflections ranging from the way we consume food to how we dress. In the same way, it allows us to see that plastics are in our lives to provide value and that they can follow a sustainable and circular process if we consume them responsibly, separate them and do not abandon them in the environment.
Objective: to offer a vision of the circular economy as a necessity for undergraduate and graduate health teaching.
Methods: narrative bibliographic review, where a search was made in the MEDLINE/Pubmed, Scielo, LILACS databases, in the last 5 years, the terms Circular Economy were used as descriptors, with the alternative terms: circular economy and education, sustainable development; sustainable economy; systematic review.
Development: The importance of the circular economy in undergraduate and graduate teaching in the health sector, the education of university students and the management of sustainability, as well as the curricular strategies based on the comprehensive training of graduates of medical sciences and the possibility of introducing the circular economy are defined.
Conclusions: In Cuba, there is all the potential to achieve learning about the circular economy in undergraduate and graduate studies in the health sector, and it is also necessary because this will improve the results for people, families, communities, and the health system itself in particular.