Conclusion
The One Health approach recognizes the undeniable interconnections between people, animals, and their shared environments and offers a compelling framework for addressing health care from a comprehensive, integrated perspective.
Family-centered veterinary medicine ensures the wellbeing of animals, while also considering the overall health of families and communities. Veterinary professionals fill a vital role as part of a dynamic cross-disciplinary team in a One Health system that addresses client and patient needs possibly overlooked by veterinary services. This includes recognizing and responding to mental or physical health issues and other barriers clients face, which significantly impact the care provided to animal patients.
Achieving this integrated approach faces both short-term and long-term challenges, primarily due to the siloed nature of health care systems. To begin to acknowledge and address some of these challenges, AAHA brought together experts from the human medical professions and veterinary medical professions to hopefully pave the way for greater collaboration and conversation between these professions. By working together with human health care professions to address challenges and develop a cohesive One Health approach, veterinary teams can better support their patients and the humans caring for them, ultimately promoting a healthier and more equitable society.
The AAHA One Health Guidelines are generously supported by Merck Animal Health.
