One Health Case Studies
In this book, we present a number of case studies from around the world describing various approaches to addressing health management problems. All of these studies illustrate the value of working across health disciplines while also drawing on other areas of expertise.
We venture from the African plains to the oceans of New Zealand, to rural Afghanistan and Nepal, the Canadian Prairies and the Arctic. We con-sider the case of the disappearing salmon in British Columbia, the impact of climate change on Arctic ecosystems, coordinated responses to wildlife conservation and plant protection, dealing with declining bee populations, emerging concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance and the importance of ensuring that the food and water supply is safe. The Dog Encyclopedia
We have grouped the chapters into four themes reflecting the nature of the case studies: systems and disease; environmental complexity; agricultural sustainability (and resources); and concepts and knowledge transfer. These four principal themes capture the key characteristics of the One Health and Eco health approach while providing a coherent/logical method for grouping the case studies presented.
At the same time, we recognize that there are several cross-cutting topics that arise in several of the cases outlined in the book: biosecurity; climate change; community engagement; education; human development; knowledge translation and communication; policy formulation and support; and public health.
While the concept of One Health is not new, the term is often misunderstood or used in a manner that is too narrow, and several authors have used it as an alternative to the term ‘One Medicine’. The issue of terminology can pose challenges for researchers and means of over-coming this, especially when undertaking a review of the literature, are outlined in the Appendix. In this book we use the term ‘One Health’ to encompass an interdisciplinary and multifaceted approach to addressing com-plex problems that impact human, animal and environmental health.
The term ‘Eco health’ has also been used in some chapters in order to take into consideration the broader ecosystem and social dynamics that impact human, animal and environmental health. It is easy to become over-whelmed by the wide range of terms used when promoting the value of taking a broad interdisciplinary (or holistic) approach. In this book, we would like readers to focus instead on the case studies presented in each chapter, whereby our chapter contributors aim to illustrate what is meant, in practical terms, by applying the ‘One Health’ approach.
