Enhancing Canada’s Capacity to Respond to Complex One Health Issues Through Communications and Collaboration

A holistic, collaborative approach that addresses the interconnections of human, animal, and environmental health (‘One Health’) is increasingly recognized as necessary for the management of ongoing and emerging health threats. This requires effective knowledge sharing and communication strategies between government agencies and One Health practitioners (e.g., physicians, veterinarians, and environmental scientists). Using a community-engaged approach, we will describe the scope of One Health issues in two Canadian provinces – British Columbia and Ontario – and review how One Health information is currently shared. Through engagement with a diverse community of stakeholders in academia, government, and practice, we will assess information and policy needs, priorities, and possibilities within local contexts and explore how One Health Communication strategies can be deployed and sustained at a regional level. By combining One Health systems science and communications research, this project will improve our ability and capacity to provide relevant and timely information related to human, animal, and environmental health and mitigate emerging health threats in Canada.