AUBURN, Ala. , Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — One Health is a concept that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health and is based on the premise that when experts from different disciplines work together to solve complex health problems, the health of all living things and the planet can be improved.
At Auburn University, “One Health” is a concept that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health. It is based on the premise that when experts from different disciplines work together to solve complex health problems, the health of all living things and the planet can be improved.
One Health involves collaboration at the local, regional, national and global levels with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes for all. Public health focuses on preventing disease and injury and promoting health in populations such as neighborhoods, communities, regions and countries. Issues related to public health and One Health include, but are not limited to, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, hunger, diet-disease links, biosecurity, occupational health and safety, pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance and climate-affected global health issues.
Collaboration is key to success
Collaboration is essential to comprehensively understand and address complex health issues. Auburn University has a long history of effectively bringing together educators, researchers, students and community members to address health issues. The College of Veterinary Medicine leads the One Health initiative with seven colleges: the College of Nursing, College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and Mathematics, College of Human Sciences, College of Education, College of Agriculture and Forestry, and College of Wildlife and Environmental Studies.
Multidisciplinary public health interventions have the potential to produce more successful and sustainable health outcomes. Advancing One Health requires experts in human health (doctors, nurses, public health professionals, epidemiologists), animal health (veterinarians, paraprofessionals, farmers), environmental science (ecologists, wildlife biologists), and biomedical scientists from related fields to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate their activities. Other relevant players in a One Health approach include law enforcement, policy makers, farmers, urban and rural communities, and pet owners.
Auburn University embraces a One Health approach by engaging experts in human, animal and environmental health to understand and mitigate public health threats and learn how diseases spread across species at the human-animal interface. By fostering interdisciplinary research and innovative education strategies, Auburn University is preparing the next generation of public health professionals to meet any challenge they face.
Developing the next generation of public health professionals
This fall, the College of Veterinary Medicine will welcome its inaugural class for its Public Health and One Health (PAOH) undergraduate program, a unique public health program that promotes One Health as a guiding principle. This holistic approach prepares program graduates to proactively design and implement solutions to address local, regional and even global health challenges.
Eight different Auburn colleges offer core courses covering a variety of topics, including health communication, data skills, social and behavioral health, disease ecology, environmental health, nutritional impacts and zoonotic diseases.
“We hope this program will address complex health issues in today’s interconnected world and be an important way for Auburn University to meet a critical societal need,” said Andrea Perkins, co-director of the PAOH program.
Perkins also promotes the concept of focusing on taking meaningful action to improve local and global health.
“One Health is focused on action – how we need to develop, implement, evaluate and revise – ideally to catalyze more meaningful, actionable steps towards improving long-term health,” she added.
Students interested in health and health sciences are ideal for this major. Graduates of this program will have the option to pursue entry-level positions in public health as well as complete the course requirements necessary to apply to medicine, veterinary medicine, other professional programs, or graduate studies in public health or biomedical sciences.
Auburn University also offers graduate students the opportunity to study One Health through the School of Forestry, Wildlife and the Environment’s One Health Graduate Certificate Program, which is taught in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Public Health.
Source: Auburn University
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