Study affirms need for greater One Health collaboration
Across 15 farms, no dairy farmers could define 'One Health'.
A survey of dairy farmers in New Zealand has found that greater collaboration is needed to spread understanding of One Health.
Researchers have suggested that it is through this collaboration with veterinary professionals and regulators that farmers can improve their understanding and management of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The research was conducted by a team of researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Massey University and AgResearch in New Zealand. They led a 55-question, semi-structured questionnaire that was designed to measure dairy farmers’ understanding of One Health, AMR and the Restricted Veterinary Medicine Process (RVMP).
The survey was conducted through in-person interviews across 15 dairy farms in the Lower North Island.
Across all 15 farms, none of the dairy farmers were able to define the term ‘One Health’.
Although the rate of AMR in New Zealand is currently relatively low, rates of AMR in humans is rising. The links to human, animal and environmental health, as well as New Zealand’s geographic isolation, mean it is important it is kept under control.
The researchers suggest that veterinary professionals should be doing more to keep their clients informed of the importance of One Health. They recommend that veterinary professionals and regulators can utilise simple practices to engage farmers in One Health practices.
Their suggestions include encouraging farmers to return unused drugs for appropriate disposal, as well as taking further steps to educate and engage farmers in the key concepts of One Health, AMR and RVMP.
Although the researchers have called for greater collaboration, they acknowledge that New Zealand’s existing AMR action plan has provided a realistic pathway. They suggest that their findings could lay the groundwork for the country’s future mitigation efforts.
Kurt Arden, senior lecturer in veterinary public health at RVC, said: “This project was undertaken to begin to understand how farmers view themselves within the One Health triad, an important and globally significant transdisciplinary movement, which when successfully implemented can help combat the globally significant threat of antimicrobial resistance.
“However, our pilot results show that farmers feel disconnected and do not feel included within the decision making regarding antimicrobial usage.
“Our results have hopefully laid some of the groundwork needed to help dairy farmers feel more included within the regulatory discussions which directly impact their livelihoods.”
The full study can be found in the journal One Health Outlook.
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Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
