Global One Health post-graduate programmes: a review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Veterinary Medicine
• Environmental Science

Background:

• The One Health (OH) approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health.
• Effective OH implementation requires integrated governance and professionals with interdisciplinary skills.
• Numerous global OH training programs exist, but inconsistencies in content and coordination pose challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create an up-to-date repository of global academic One Health (OH) programs.
• To critically assess the curricula content of these OH programs.
• To identify common themes and variations in OH training.

Main Methods:

• An online search was conducted for 'ONE HEALTH MASTERS COURSES' and 'ONE HEALTH MASTERS PROGRAMMES' globally.
• Data collected included course details, administration, curricula, language, duration, and host institutions.
• Forty-three programs met the inclusion criteria for analysis.

Main Results:

• Most programs (83.7%) focused on infectious diseases and population/global health over environmental aspects.
• Curricula commonly covered OH principles, epidemiology, infectious diseases, risk management, and communication.
• North America and Europe were the most represented continents, with veterinary institutions leading.

Conclusions:

• Despite diversity, commonalities in OH program curricula facilitate interdisciplinary communication.
• Further research is recommended to assess module alignment with OH competencies and program impact.
• This study addresses a significant information gap in One Health education.