The One Health Trail: Physician Leaders as Advocates for Human, Animal, and Environmental Health

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Source: Frontiers Medicine

Original: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1735334...

Published: 2026-01-12T00:00:00Z

The article describes the new nine-month study plan The One Health Trail for 3rd and 4th year medical students. It focuses on connecting the health of people, animals and the environment within the One Health concept. The course combines lectures, experiential learning and independent study with an emphasis on practical application through community involvement. Students collaborate with a variety of actors such as academic experts, researchers, policy makers, practitioners and community members. Topics include the food chain, mining, wildlife and livestock management, water quality, human-animal relationships, ecosystem and planetary health, and health care sustainability. Interdisciplinary activities are intended to develop students' ability to critically analyze complex health problems and promote systemic solutions. The manuscript describes in detail the structure and learning components of the course and presents preliminary results of student evaluations of the courses. The authors also suggest models for adapting this curriculum to other undergraduate and graduate medical programs that want to integrate One Health principles into interdisciplinary education.