One Health: An opportunity for an interprofessional approach to healthcare

Abstract

One Health has been viewed as the collaborative effort between professions and disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. For One Health principles to be operationalised, interprofessional education and interprofessional collaborative practice are essential. However, interprofessional initiatives between the human health professions and veterinary medicine focus primarily on patient care in the human health setting. The purpose of this report is to describe two models of collaboration between human and veterinary medicine that have been designed to address human and animal health challenges in practice. Initiatives that involve this cooperation are providing access to affordable and clean drinking water. Implications linked to these initiatives are explored in relation to the need for an interprofessional approach to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment.