Emerging zoonotic diseases management: designing One Health interventions through a community lens including mental...

The One Health (OH) approach has emerged as a comprehensive approach that recognizes the complexity of health challenges. Previous global health emergencies including Ebola and Covid-19 caused major social and psychological disruptions, generating fear, stigma, distrust, denial of disease and resistance to control measures. This study aims to investigate stakeholder OH perspectives and to assist in designing adaptations for interventions through a community lens, including for mental health.

This mixed-methods study draws upon OH coordination activities and field experiences in Senegal and has been conducted between 2022 and 2024. Data sources include records of activities implemented through the National OH platform, epidemiological investigations carried out in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur de Dakar and the Ministry of Health and Social Action, and subsequent field investigations conducted in 2024. Qualitative information has been collected through participatory observation, field reports from eight OH coordination meetings, and nine semi-structured interviews conducted during the epidemiological investigations. In addition, 35 key informant interviews have been conducted with governmental, institutional, and community stakeholders involved in epidemic preparedness and response. Narrative accounts have been collected from 27 patients, survivors, and caregivers in relation to Covid-19, rabies, and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), as well as from four livestock keepers who had experienced animal losses. Quantitative data have been obtained through a survey of 434 livestock keepers assessing their knowledge, perceptions, and practices related to zoonotic diseases and OH interventions.

The study has identified several indicators of psychosocial distress among affected individuals and communities. Analysis of the OH coordination platform has shown that emergency responses were primarily organized around collaboration between the human, animal, and environmental health sectors, with operational activities mainly focused on surveillance, case detection, and contact tracing. Yet, social scientists, psychologists, and social workers were rarely involved in preparedness and outbreak responses. The study also revealed limited knowledge of zoonotic diseases among livestock keepers, with the majority (89.86%) recognizing only one or two diseases. Low knowledge was significantly associated with lower levels of formal education (p < 0.03). However, respondents demonstrated local knowledge of these diseases, describing some of them using local names. Most respondents (87.1%) reported no prior knowledge of the OH approach, while 75.81% were aware that diseases could be transmitted from animals to humans.

The study suggests that OH interventions should be designed to bridge central decision making, operational planning, and community realities by integrating local knowledge, strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration and incorporating psychosocial dimensions into epidemic preparedness and response strategies.