The AAHA One Health Guidelines seek to bridge an enduring divide

The connection between the health of people, pets, and the planet is undeniable. And veterinary teams know firsthand how zoonotic diseases can affect their patients, clients, and staff.

Veterinarians are well-versed in identifying and treating these types of diseases, but what about other aspects of One Health that can affect patient care? How can veterinary teams be better equipped to handle cases where family members’ challenges, like disability, mental health, safety, transportation, and others, complicate patient care?

Collaborating across human and veterinary health care disciplines can promote a system of care that supports both veterinary patients and their families. But, the reality is that veterinary medicine and human medicine are often siloed, making it difficult for professionals in those different realms to know how to work together.

Collaboration key to help people and pets

To address this gap, AAHA brought together a task force consisting of individuals working in various areas of pet and human health to create the 2025 One Health Guidelines: Navigating Cross-Disciplinary Partnerships, which will be available to the public August 27. This first-time initiative provides actionable strategies for veterinary teams to create lasting relationships with health care providers in their communities.

Brian Sick, MD, MHA, FACP, FNAP, is cochair of the AAHA One Health Guidelines, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, and Co-Director of the Center for Interprofessional Health at the University of Minnesota.

“Throughout my career, I have been deeply engaged in interprofessional education—as an educator, clinician, researcher, and leader. Yet one of the most enduring divides I have encountered is the separation between human and veterinary medicine,” said Sick.

“By recognizing and leveraging this relationship, both veterinary and human health professionals can develop more compassionate, holistic, and effective approaches to care,” he continued. “These guidelines invite us to think differently and think creatively across disciplinary boundaries to support this bond—ultimately enhancing the health and well-being of both humans and animals.”

The guidelines offer resources that both veterinary practitioners—and human medical professionals—will find useful in navigating partnerships across disciplines. An easy-to-follow algorithm provides step-by-step guidance on how to identify One Health-related issues, determine the level of urgency, and connect with the appropriate contact for the situation. Additionally, there are sample case studies that showcase not only how we can work together across professions, but also why it’s so vitally important.

And the guidelines also provide the types of other details veterinary professionals have come to expect from AAHA, like terms and definitions so that everyone can use a shared vocabulary, examples of common One Health scenarios (including zoonotic disease, disability, intimate partner violence, and more), and recommendations regarding how and when to follow up on One Health cases.

One Health and family-centered care

The One Health Guidelines also build the case for making a family-centered approach to care, which has been a central tenant of two previous guidelines (Community Care and Referral), an important part of One Health practice. Carrie McNeil, DVM, MPH, cochair of the AAHA One Health Guidelines task force, weighed in on this aspect of the guidelines.

“While we think of ourselves as ‘animal doctors,’ the reality of daily practice is that we are really helping take care of a family, of a community—basically, we are practicing One Health,” McNeil said. “We designed the AAHA One Health Guidelines to help make those intersections of animal and community health a little easier to navigate—whether you are serving as the frontline detector of a potential zoonoses, developing a pet care plan that includes accommodations for a client with disabilities, or navigating safety when faced with animal abuse and interpersonal violence.”

Sick sees interprofessional collaboration as a particularly powerful strategy for helping individuals as well as families and communities as a whole. And while he’s seen siloes fall between health professions in the educational and practice settings, he believes the divide between human and animal health care providers remains one of the most persistent.

“Through a purposeful and simple reframing of our understanding of ‘family’ to include all living beings bound by meaningful relationships, we create an imperative for these two groups of providers to work together for the health of the family,” Sick said. “Human and veterinary professionals each bring valuable perspectives and expertise, and it is essential that we work together to find common ground. These guidelines—co-developed by professionals from both fields—offer a strong and thoughtful foundation for that shared work.”

Whatever job you hold in healthcare, you have the opportunity to play an important role in promoting public health along with the human-animal bond. To make sure you’re among the first to see the 2025 One Health Guidelines, be sure to go to aaha.org/onehealthpartnerships on August 27.

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Disclaimer: Trends™ content is meant to inform, educate, and inspire by providing an array of diverse viewpoints. Any content published should not be viewed as an official stance, position, or endorsement by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.