One Health: Pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response

Politecnico di Milano via Coursera

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/one-health-pandemic-preparedness-prevention-and-response

Introduction

## Course Review: One Health: Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, and Response ### Overview In a world increasingly affected by pandemics and environmental crises, the course titled **"One Health: Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, and Response"** emerges as an essential program for those interested in a holistic approach to health. Developed by the esteemed **Karolinska Institutet (KI)** and the **Federation of the European Academies of Medicine (FEAM)** as part of the **PERISCOPE** research initiative funded by the **European Commission**, this course dives deep into the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this course addresses not just the immediate crisis but aims to equip participants with the knowledge necessary for understanding and responding to future pandemics and epidemics in a more resilient manner. ### Course Structure and Content The course is thoughtfully divided into several modules, each building upon the previous one while offering specialized insights into different aspects of the One Health approach. 1. **Introduction: One Health in an Interconnected World** The introductory module sets the stage for understanding the historical and conceptual foundations of One Health. This critical backdrop emphasizes the need to address "creeping crises," phenomena that subtly evolve over time but can have devastating impacts. 2. **One Health’s Current Status – Gaps, Obstacles & Imbalances** This module provides a compelling analysis of the current state of One Health, focusing on identifying gaps, obstacles, and imbalances particularly concerning human, animal, and environmental health. The focus on legal frameworks and anthropocentrism opens up important discussions around the necessary structural changes for effective pandemic prevention. 3. **From Theory to Practice: How to Translate Evidence into Policy** Transitioning from theoretical knowledge to practical application is vital, and this module addresses how policymakers can translate scientific evidence into actionable policies. This structure not only empowers participants with knowledge but also prepares them for real-world applications of the One Health concept. 4. **The Pillars of One Health: Best Practices** Case studies within this module illustrate the successes and challenges faced in implementing One Health principles, especially in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a rich resource for understanding diverse applications. 5. **One Health: An Interdisciplinary Approach** This module expands on the previous ones by exploring interconnected case studies related to zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, and climate change, underlining the interdisciplinary nature of health issues. 6. **How Can Global Coordination and Governance Help the Implementation of One Health?** Understanding global and regional governance structures is crucial for One Health’s effective implementation. This module provides a broad overview of existing mechanisms, encouraging participants to think critically about future directions in health governance. 7. **One Health and Beyond: The Potential of Expanded Connectedness to Tackle Creeping Crises** The final module encapsulates the course's core messages while encouraging a reflective discussion among participants about the future of One Health and its potential impact on global health. ### Recommendations **Who Should Take This Course?** This course is ideal for public health professionals, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, environmental scientists, veterinarians, students in related fields, and anyone interested in understanding the holistic nature of health. **Why Enroll?** 1. **Comprehensive Knowledge**: The course offers a well-rounded understanding of the One Health framework, integrating various scientific, legal, and practical aspects necessary for tackling health crises. 2. **Expert Insights**: Design and delivery by leading experts ensure that the knowledge imparted is not only theoretical but also grounded in current practices and evidence. 3. **Application Focus**: The emphasis on translating theory into practice prepares you to enact change in your professional sphere. ### Conclusion The **“One Health: Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, and Response”** course is essential for anyone who wants to navigate the complexities of health in a rapidly changing world. By understanding the interconnected nature of health issues, participants will be better prepared to contribute to effective pandemic preparedness and response strategies. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your expertise in a vital field—enroll today and become part of the solution!

Syllabus

Introduction: One Health in an interconnected world

The intro module consists of two lessons, where the first lesson aims to give a short description of the history and journey of One Health as a framework and the notion of human-animal-environmental health interconnection that it is built upon. The second lesson is an introduction to "creeping crisis", a concept to explain crisis that evolve over time and demands new toolboxes to tackle. After completing the module, participants should have an overview of One Health’s history as well as a deeper understanding of One Health, and the importance in exploring and understanding actual and forthcoming issues that can be found at the human-animal-environmental interface and manifest a creeping crisis.

One Health’s current status – gaps, obstacles & imbalances

The second module consists of four lessons where the general aim is to explore One Health’s current status and identify ways of moving forward to strengthen the concept’s impact on pandemic preparedness and prevention. This by highlighting the gaps, obstacles, and imbalances that exist within the framework, especially regarding the three sectors of human, animal, and environmental health. The first and second lessons present One Health from a legal perspective and explains how the legal system could be more aligned to One Health in order to safeguard human, animal and environmental health. The third lecture continues where the two previous lessons took off and further explores anthropocentrism and a particular blind spot within One Health: human-animal relations, whereas lesson four focuses on the relation between the health of nature and One Health in the context of pandemic risk and mitigation.

From theory to practice: how to translate evidence into policy.

In the previous modules, you learned more about the struggle to define "One Health". Due to the complexity of the concept, a correct conceptualization of One Health can enhance its implementation. But how can we translate theory to practice? Policymakers need evidence to inform policy, and scientists play a key role in the process. In this module, you will access resources that reverberate the literature debate around the science-policy nexus. Finally, the module is preparatory for the following ones, which will bring to your attention some case studies where the One Health approach was put into practice and implemented. For this purpose, in this module, you will read more about the operationalization of One Health.

The pillars of One Health: best practices.

As your familiarity with the conceptualization of One Health and the process to operationalize it has grown, the fourth and the fifth module will provide you with some case studies. Lecturers will discuss successes and challenges in implementing One Health, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic context. This module will zoom into each of the pillars of One Health: human health and food safety, animal health, and environmental health.

One Health: an interdisciplinary approach.

Now that you have deepened your knowledge of each pillar of the One Health approach, you will embrace the concept in its oneness and interdisciplinarity. The fifth module groups case studies that are relevant to topics transversal to human, animal, and environmental health. Particularly, you will learn more about best practices and challenges in implementing One Health when addressing zoonoses, Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR), and climate change.

How can global coordination and governance help the implementation of One Health?

In the previous module, you realised how challenging the implementation of One Health could be thanks to the case studies provided by lecturers. This module will offer you an overview of the existing coordination and governance mechanisms to enhance the One Health implementation at the global and regional levels. Some institutions are already a solid reality, others were recently created or are still discussed. This module will nudge you to reflect on the future of Global Health Governance and One Health.

One Health and beyond: the potential of expanded connectedness to tackle creeping crises.

In this final module, you will hear from the MOOC's organisers: Walter Osika, Senior Specialist at KI; Elin Pöllänen, Research assistant at KI; Emma Martinez Sanchez, Senior Scientific Policy Officer at FEAM; and, Claudia Granaldi, Junior Policy Officer at FEAM. The coordinators of the course will discuss the main take-home messages that emerged from each module and express their views concerning the potential development of 'One Health'. Do not miss the final discussion 'One Health & you'!