Showing the Way for One Health Collaboration
The Missouri Department of Conservation was in the midst of a major reorganization when normal operations, and life in general, were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But if there were a silver lining in the gathering dark clouds it was that the Department had already identified the concept of One Health as a central focus to guide their efforts into the future.
One Health is a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that recognizes the interdependence of people, animals, plants, and the environment. It is a collaborative approach that explicitly unites experts from across a wide spectrum of disciplines—doctors, veterinarians, public health officials, and ecologists and other environmental scientists—to advance the goal of optimal health outcomes, such as preventing the emergence and spread of diseases from animals to people.
Officials in Missouri were well on their way to removing administrative barriers through the formation of an interagency coordination team to foster collaboration across the Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Health and Senior Services, and Conservation when the pandemic sparked an unprecedented surge in outdoor recreation.
“As more people went outside, there was a collective shift in focus toward understanding the human/animal interface. We saw this as an opportunity to harness the renewed interest in the outdoors while keeping people, animals, and the environment healthy,” explained Jason Sumners, the Science Branch Chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Sumners made those remarks during a community of practice presentation to a group of colleagues from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), and EPA. Through cooperative agreements and memoranda of agreements, the organizations work together to advance shared priorities, including public health, water and air quality, children’s environmental health, resilience to pollutants, and responding to unfolding threats and contaminants such as COVID-19 and PFAS.
One Health is a natural fit.
“One Health can be a uniting purpose for diverse constituent groups and organizations. Unlocking partnerships using the One Health lens is facilitating engagement and understanding of the importance of healthy ecosystems to human health,” said Sara Parker Pauley, Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation.
With Sumners’ help, other states and EPA are looking at Missouri as a model for One Health planning and action. In addition to interagency coordination, Missouri’s work includes training for state health, education, and natural resources employees, and the development of risk communication strategies to make the science and technology behind One Health accessible to wider audiences.
A recently posted Missouri Department of Conservation webpage highlights some early success stories, such as an ongoing collaboration with the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Recognizing the health benefits of outdoor recreation, pediatricians write “nature prescriptions” to their young patients as a way of encouraging them to reap the physical and emotional benefits of outdoor recreation.
The department has also posted a series of five 60-minute virtual one health seminars for educators, and staff have continued to work closely with teachers across the state.
Also under consideration is a One Health Laboratory Campus to be located near the existing Missouri State Public Health Laboratory. If approved, it will bring research staff from four different state agencies together in a single facility where they can share both resources and ideas. “Collaboration through shared space and shared learning,” noted Sumners.
With those examples already in place, EPA is looking to leverage the unifying concept of One Health to further strengthen the impact of its research for the benefit of Agency partnerships with states, tribes, local communities, and public health and nature resource professional organizations.
“EPA has long recognized that clean air and water, uncontaminated land, and functioning ecosystems are critical for protecting public health. From an Agency perspective, the One Health approach acknowledges the intricate, crucial, and very much interdependent connections between all those elements—and can be a powerful guide for advancing our mission to safeguard the environment and protect public health,” noted EPA’s Dr. Wayne Casio during an interview posted on ASTHO’s blog.
The ASTHO blog helped kickoff a series of One Health informational webinars jointly hosted by AFWA, ASTHO, ECOS, and EPA. It’s all part of a shared commitment to turn One Health concepts and research into tangible tools and resources that optimize public health in states and communities across the nation.
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