Guidelines from a COST Action offer help in designing and evaluating solutions to pressing health issues, such as antibiotic resistance. The approach reaches across research boundaries and is crossing national boundaries, with opportunities for a young Serbian researcher and a new European Chapter of Ecohealth International.
The ‘Network for Evaluation of One Health’ (NEOH) COST Action has encouraged awareness, understanding and use of ‘One Health’ to promote systems thinking and avoid unintended consequences.
The concept views human, animal and environmental health as interdependent. It promotes cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary collaboration on research and strategies for a healthier world, explains the Action chair, Dr Barbara Häsler, a senior lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College, the United Kingdom. “One Health is good for all,” she says.
For example, integrated approaches are needed to tackle antibiotic resistance for the benefit of human, animal and plant health.
Around 250 experts in health, ecology, geography, economics, microbiology, epidemiology, anthropology, statistics and nutrition, among others, from 29 countries, took part in the highly interdisciplinary Action. “It created an innovative and dynamic learning network,” says Häsler.
Leap into the Balkans
NEOH raised awareness of One Health across the Balkans, with three training workshops for the region. Sara Savić, a researcher at the Scientific Veterinary Institute “Novi Sad” in Serbia, was involved in training, research and networking in NEOH. She also headed the working group that tested the NEOH evaluation protocols on ten case studies.
“Before NEOH I could not easily dive into a new challenge. Now I just jump,” she says. She is now head of her laboratory, while a joint project with Slovenian medical researchers has been approved nationally after earlier rejections. “This time we added One Health to the proposal.”
In 2018, she organised a 10-speaker conference for doctors, veterinarians and biologists in her region for International One Health Day. She and colleagues now plan to create a Serbian One Health Association.
“NEOH made Serbia visible in the discipline and on the COST map,” says Savić.
Expanding reach
NEOH’s international reach can grow as One Health is increasingly used around the world, Dr Häsler says. The Action’s evaluation framework is available in an open-access book, Integrated approaches to health – A handbook for the evaluation of One Health “We hope it will encourage people to think more about One Health, use the protocols and raise understanding of where One Health can add value,” she adds.
Since NEOH ended, participants have begun an internationally-funded project evaluating antimicrobial resistance surveillance. Members are also continuing the COST network as the new European Chapter of Ecohealth International to create a joint integrated-health community. “The next step is to take One Health to the general population,” Häsler concludes.
View the Action: https://www.cost.eu/actions/ TD1404
View the Network website: neoh.onehealthglobal.net/