Sustainable development practices in healthcare: a systematic review

Purpose: Healthcare organizations are rethinking their practices in response to the framework provided by the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The purpose of this paper is to explore whether, how and why sustainable development practices have been implemented in the healthcare sector. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a systematic literature review, carried out using Scopus and Web of Science databases. The papers were analyzed according to the five activity-based theoretical framework categories: purpose, subject, community, object and practices. Findings: Results reveal a lack of research regarding the integration of sustainable development and SDGs into managerial systems or functions. Moreover, they identify key areas of interest within sustainable development and healthcare practices, offering guidance for future research and strategies to better align healthcare with the SDGs. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that aims to summarize the scientific literature on this topic through the lens of the activity-based theoretical framework, allowing for an analysis of the literature that investigates how sustainable development practices shape organizational life.