Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff
Abstract Background: To meet the wicked challenges of today, there have been calls to disrupt the status quo of educational systems. One Health (OH) was one approach identified to be well-positioned to evoke change in the learning environment and transform the way the future society addresses health...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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CABI
2025-07-01
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| Series: | CABI One Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0022 |
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| author | Carrie K.M. McMullen Katie M. Clow Cécile Aenishaenslin Dale Lackeyram E. Jane Parmley |
| author_facet | Carrie K.M. McMullen Katie M. Clow Cécile Aenishaenslin Dale Lackeyram E. Jane Parmley |
| author_sort | Carrie K.M. McMullen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background: To meet the wicked challenges of today, there have been calls to disrupt the status quo of educational systems. One Health (OH) was one approach identified to be well-positioned to evoke change in the learning environment and transform the way the future society addresses health challenges. However, this disruption to the educational system cannot occur without first recognizing the context (i.e., the university structures) within which OH programs are implemented, and the challenges that context imposes on such programs. Therefore, this study aimed to present the identified barriers and opportunities for OH program development and delivery within the Canadian higher education system. Methods: Focus groups were used to bring together Canadian university faculty members and staff who worked, taught, or conducted research in OH-related areas, and who were representative of human, animal, and environmental health program areas. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. Results: Three focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 13 participants from across Canada. Six main barriers emerged during the focus group discussions: (1) One Health is abused as a brand, (2) there is the potential for the erosion of the breadth of perspectives that were built into OH programs, (3) there is inconsistent support for OH across levels of administration, (4) the university business model impacts decision-making, (5) community collaborations are stifled within current structures, and (6) faculty members’ workload agreements hinder the ability to provide transdisciplinary teaching. Opportunities were also identified that may help overcome these barriers and included: the elements of the OH approach can be delivered irrespective of the program being called “One Health”, the breadth of perspectives involved in the program can be maintained through continuous evaluation, and existing community engagement opportunities can be leveraged to support better transdisciplinary education. Conclusions: This study highlighted the barriers that faculty members and staff involved in OH program development, implementation, and evaluation have experienced and are trying to mitigate. This work will also help inform an OH program evaluation strategy for Canada. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-25e17eb7c6444bdb950535119f908f2b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2791-223X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | CABI |
| record_format | Article |
| series | CABI One Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-25e17eb7c6444bdb950535119f908f2b2025-08-20T03:28:17ZengCABICABI One Health2791-223X2025-07-014110.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0022Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staffCarrie K.M. McMullen0Katie M. Clow1Cécile Aenishaenslin2Dale Lackeyram3E. Jane Parmley4Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada;Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada;Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada;Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University, Kingston, OntarioDepartment of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada;Abstract Background: To meet the wicked challenges of today, there have been calls to disrupt the status quo of educational systems. One Health (OH) was one approach identified to be well-positioned to evoke change in the learning environment and transform the way the future society addresses health challenges. However, this disruption to the educational system cannot occur without first recognizing the context (i.e., the university structures) within which OH programs are implemented, and the challenges that context imposes on such programs. Therefore, this study aimed to present the identified barriers and opportunities for OH program development and delivery within the Canadian higher education system. Methods: Focus groups were used to bring together Canadian university faculty members and staff who worked, taught, or conducted research in OH-related areas, and who were representative of human, animal, and environmental health program areas. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. Results: Three focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 13 participants from across Canada. Six main barriers emerged during the focus group discussions: (1) One Health is abused as a brand, (2) there is the potential for the erosion of the breadth of perspectives that were built into OH programs, (3) there is inconsistent support for OH across levels of administration, (4) the university business model impacts decision-making, (5) community collaborations are stifled within current structures, and (6) faculty members’ workload agreements hinder the ability to provide transdisciplinary teaching. Opportunities were also identified that may help overcome these barriers and included: the elements of the OH approach can be delivered irrespective of the program being called “One Health”, the breadth of perspectives involved in the program can be maintained through continuous evaluation, and existing community engagement opportunities can be leveraged to support better transdisciplinary education. Conclusions: This study highlighted the barriers that faculty members and staff involved in OH program development, implementation, and evaluation have experienced and are trying to mitigate. This work will also help inform an OH program evaluation strategy for Canada.http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0022educationhealth trainingtransdisciplinarysiloschallengesteaching |
| spellingShingle | Carrie K.M. McMullen Katie M. Clow Cécile Aenishaenslin Dale Lackeyram E. Jane Parmley Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff CABI One Health education health training transdisciplinary silos challenges teaching |
| title | Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff |
| title_full | Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff |
| title_fullStr | Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff |
| title_short | Barriers to implementing One Health training programs: Experiences of university faculty and staff |
| title_sort | barriers to implementing one health training programs experiences of university faculty and staff |
| topic | education health training transdisciplinary silos challenges teaching |
| url | http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0022 |
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