One Health: An epistemological genealogy

Area of Science:

• * One Health, Public Health, Ecology, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Nursing.

Background:

• * The common framing of One Health as a descriptive model linking human, animal, and environmental health.
• * This articulation, while useful for policy, can obscure deeper epistemological foundations.
• * Existing frameworks may not fully capture the interdisciplinary nature of health.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To reframe One Health not just as a coordination framework, but as a consolidation of an interdisciplinary mode of knowing health.
• * To explore the epistemological underpinnings of the One Health concept.
• * To identify convergent lines of thought across various scientific disciplines.

Main Methods:

• * Genealogical approach tracing intellectual history.
• * Analysis of convergent ideas across philosophy, ecology, medicine, veterinary science, public health, nursing, and social sciences.
• * Identification of recurring commitments and principles within these traditions.

Main Results:

• * One Health emerges as a consolidation of a long-standing interdisciplinary approach to understanding health.
• * Recurring commitments identified: health as relational and situated, multi-level non-linear causality, and ethical responsibility for ecological conditions.
• * Evidence of shared principles across diverse fields regarding interconnected health.

Conclusions:

• * One Health should be recognized as a distinct 'way of knowing' health.
• * This requires concepts, methods, and responsibilities that acknowledge entangled human-animal-environment realities.
• * Reframing One Health promotes a more holistic and integrated approach to global health challenges.