Revised Wonca tree

In September 2023, the World Family Physicians Organisation updated the Wonca tree concept. The difference with the previous version is that the tree is no longer hanging in the air but has soil: 

• One Health 
• The health of the planet 
• Sustainable development 

This is the foundation of the general practice of family medicine! 

 We remind you that the Wonca Tree is a graphic representation of general family practice. It depicts the relationship between 6 core competencies – branches and 12 attributes – leaves. The Swiss College of Primary Care developed this tree approach. This set of relationships should be the basis for and reflected in developing relevant curricula, research, and quality improvement in primary healthcare. 

Now for a historical overview 

 The definition of European general practice of family medicine was first formulated in 2002. The second important update took place in 2011. Recently, the definition has been revised and supplemented with an essential component: the foundation of General Practice – Family Medicine, which includes One Health, Global Health, and Sustainable Development. 

 In the introduction to the updated definition, it is stated: 

 “One Health’ is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, all animals and the environment.  

 Planetary health’ is defined as the health of humans and the natural systems on which human health depends such as water, air and soil, which also impact on plant life, food and energy systems.  

 The Earth’s natural systems are the foundation of the Sustainable Development Goals.  

 We all share the same resources, and we are co-dependent on environmental factors. In recent years we have been made aware of how we as humans contaminate water air and soil during our activities of everyday living, and also when at work in the healthcare sector delivering healthcare to patients, such as when prescribing, requesting medical tests and referring people to other services they must travel to.  

 We are all actively consuming things, ranging from the raw materials themselves (energy, water, fuel) to processed products (e.g. food). We also do this in healthcare and other related activities. As a consequence, we should all be concerned with what resources are consumed to produce these activities, what pollution is generated and what waste is produced. We need to know how we can help our planet not to be damaged as it supplies resources for our modern living environments, and how we can avoid making our planet unhealthy as we humans escalate our consumption of resources. The potential of primary care to positively impact healthcare sustainability and address the impact of climate and natural environment change is substantial.  

 As frontline healthcare workers within their respective communities, primary care providers can advocate for measures to reduce the effects of climate and environment change, encourage public participation, and promote activities that safeguard individuals from the consequences of these changes.” 

 Source: https://bit.ly/451mrcP