We Know One Health, but We also Need One Communication

Abstract

The One Health concept was developed globally as a strategy to expand interdisciplinary collaborations in all aspects of human, animal, and environmental health. Although health communication is a well-recognized discipline in human health, it is not yet being applied in the context of One Health. This is a potentially wasted opportunity for building bridges between health (human, animal, and environmental) and social sciences, addressing cross-cutting issues in the holistic perspective required in the 21st century, keeping in mind that one solution does not fit all societies. One Communication allows communication to be made in several ways, using different channels and reaching different contexts and populations. In this chapter, the authors highlight some opportunities for One Communication in the context of food safety, zoonoses, and environmental health as well as the barriers perceived by them to the implementation of One Communication, taking into account the state-of-the-art and their own experience in recent projects and case studies.

Perception and Knowledge of Portuguese Veterinarians about the Zoonotic Transmission of Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter suis: The Need for One Health Intervention

“…It is known that zoonotic diseases are a growing concern, amounting to approximately 60% of the existing human pathogens, and over 75% of those can be tracked to animals [ 34 ]. Sometimes, zoonotic diseases manifest in animals before they infect humans [ 35 ], so veterinarians possess specialty training in zoonoses and, thereafter, should be a great resource of information on this subject [ 36 ]. In addition, m according to Spear et al (2015), people would be willing to consult with a veterinarian on the advice of their physician if they had a zoonotic disease [ 36 ].…”

“…This happens because physicians are uncomfortable with their knowledge about zoonoses [ 36 , 38 ]. Therefore, physicians consign veterinarians the duty of educating the public about zoonoses, yet neither of these experts communicate with the other [ 35 ].…”

“…Despite the results of our study being suggestive of limited knowledge and awareness of veterinarians regarding Helicobacter spp. infections, they continue to play an important role in the promotion of public health [ 35 , 39 ]. Pet owners are more likely to contact their veterinarian than their physician regarding information about zoonoses [ 40 ], along with the fact that they consider the role of veterinarians important as public health promoters [ 39 ].…”