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Arleigh Reynolds, Hannah Robinson, Kelsey Nicholson, and Laurie Meythaler-Mullins

Are you interested in understanding how global climate change will alter human society, animal health, and the environment? Are you curious about how these three things are interconnected?

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Are you interested in understanding how global climate change will alter human society, animal health, and the environment? Are you curious about how these three things are interconnected?

This course focuses on what is happening right now in the Arctic, where climate change is accelerating twice as fast as the rest of the world. Understanding how Arctic ecosystems are adapting and collapsing can give us insight into future changes across the globe. While this course is focused on the Arctic, the principles and concepts in this course can be applied anywhere in the world.

Finding deep solutions to new challenges caused by climate change can’t be accomplished using only traditional fields of science, such as medicine or biology.

Addressing these issues effectively requires a novel approach, one that integrates knowledge across disciplines and cultures and recognizes the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. This concept, always central to the Indigenous worldview, has recently been recognized in Western science as One Health.

One Health was originally developed as a means of understanding how zoonotic diseases, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, arise.

  • Between 65% and 70% of emerging diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin. The way we impact our environment and how this influences human-animal interactions play a significant role in how these diseases develop and spread.

  • Health is more than the absence of disease and can be defined as a state of well-being for individuals and their communities. Under this definition, well-being encompasses physical, mental, behavioral, cultural, and spiritual health.

  • Applying this holistic approach to the One Health paradigm allows us to bring in expertise across natural and social sciences and connect Western science with traditional Indigenous ways of knowing.

  • Such a broad and deep integration of knowledge and experience provides opportunities for understanding large issues like food safety, security, and sovereignty at their roots, and for engaging stakeholders to build effective solutions.

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Students who complete this course will:
  • Have a solid understanding of the one health concept
  • Be able to identify how one health can provide a lens through which to view a variety of challenging situations in human, animal, and environmental health
  • Explain how the one health approach can lead to sustainable solutions to critical issues facing communities in the circumpolar north and beyond
  • Students will also:
  • Explain the one health paradigm with a focus on the circumpolar north and global applications
  • Describe the ten thousand-year history of one health
  • Explore interrelationships between human, animal, and environmental health
  • Provide examples of challenges best addressed through the one health paradigm
  • Describe how traditional ways of knowing and western science can be used together to understand and manage one health issues

Syllabus

Week 2: Human Health and Animal Health
Animal Health Introduction
Why Animal Health Matters
Week 1: One Health Overview
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Welcome to the Course
One Health Concepts
Indigenous Worldview
The Zen Venn Approach
Human Health Introduction
Human Health - More than just the Absence of Disease
Week 3: Environmental Health - Our Role in the Ecosystem
Environmental Health
One Health and Climate Change
Biodiversity
Biocontaminants and Contaminant Monitoring
Week 4: Social Sciences in One Health
Social Sciences Introduction
One Health Paradigm
Role of Team Science in One Health
Collaboration in One Health

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Develops knowledge of One Health and how it can solve challenges for communities around the world
Engages with the ten thousand-year history of One Health
Expands knowledge of the interdependence of health among humans, animals, and the environment
Explores ways that Western science and Traditional Indigenous knowledge can come together to solve real-world problems
Includes examples of issues that are best addressed through the One Health concept
Taught by multiple instructors whose expertise encompasses multiple disciplines

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in One Health: Life Interconnected with these activities:
Discuss environmental health
Refresh foundational understanding of Environmental Health concepts and vocabulary. This will lay a solid base for the concepts that will be covered in the class.
Browse courses on Environmental Health
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  • Identify key concepts in Environmental Health
  • Research different aspects of Environmental Health
  • Summarize your findings
Research Arctic ecosystems
Conduct your own research on Arctic ecosystems to gain a deeper understanding of their unique characteristics and challenges.
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  • Identify reputable resources on Arctic ecosystems.
  • Read and synthesize information from various sources.
  • Create a presentation or report to summarize your findings.
Practice Understanding the One Health Concept
Completing these drills may help to solidify the complexity and history of the One Health Concept.
Browse courses on One Health
Show steps
  • Read through and complete the practice drills for the One Health Concept
  • Review the One Health Concepts Resources
  • Complete the practice drills on the history of the One Health Concept
Show all three activities

Career center

Learners who complete One Health: Life Interconnected will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

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