Understanding One Health core competency prioirities for the Asia-Pacific to inform capacity building.   — The Association Specialists
  1. Schedule
  2. Oral Presentations - Strengthening the future epidemiological workforce across the region
  3. Understanding One Health core competency prioirities for the Asia-Pacific to inform capacity building.  

Understanding One Health core competency prioirities for the Asia-Pacific to inform capacity building.   (23891)

Sandra Steele 1 , Caitlin PFEIFFER 1 , Hasanthi Abeykoon 1 , Rori Pryor 1 , Carolyn Benigno 2 , Anne-Lise Chaber 3 , Amanda Duarte Barbosa 4 , Bruce Gummow 5 , Jane Heller 6 , Aida Muhid 7 , January Nones 2 , Phuc Pham Duc 8 9 , Emilie Vallee 10 , Anke Wiethoelter 1 , Imas Yuyun 11 , Tu Tu Zaw Win 12 , Simon Firestone 1
  1. The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VICTORIA, Australia
  2. Philippine College of Veterinary Epidemiologists, Quezon City, Philippines
  3. School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences,, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  5. Discipline of Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
  6. School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Au
  7. Division of Disease Control and Veterinary Biosecurity, Department of Veterinary Services, Putrajaya, Malaysia
  8. Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research, Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam
  9. Institute of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development, Hanoi, Vietnam
  10. School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
  11. Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Jakarta, Indonesia
  12. French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), Bangkok, Thailand

Background:  

The Asia-Pacific Consortium of Veterinary Epidemiology (APCOVE) was established in 2020, bringing together animal health experts from Australia, New Zealand and eight partner countries in the Asia-Pacific. Currently, the APCOVE One Health (OH) activity is developing training to strengthen OH capacity to complement existing field epidemiology training of technical competencies and regional OH initiatives.  

To inform training design, country-based prioritisation research was conducted to:  

  1. Identify national and regional strengths, gaps and priorities in knowledge and skills impacting operationalisation of OH.  
  1. Establish a priority list of regional OH core competencies.   

 

Methods:  

A modified Delphi study was conducted online, comprised of two surveys and two zoom workshops. Participants were eight ‘One Health Experts’ from each country, purposefully selected by in-country partners 

Data collection and analysis was conducted concurrently, with each phase of analysis informing the subsequent activity. A deductive framework analysis utilising a OH competency framework was used for open data.  Creation of impact and feasibility matrices based on ranking questions were used to identify OH competency priorities.  

Results:  

Communication and collaboration were recognised as essential core competencies. Systems thinking was identified as a foundational OH competency providing a holistic approach to problem solving. Most countries reported limited integration of the environment sector, with poor understanding of their role in the OH workforce.  
 
Competencies including OH teamwork, understanding OH systems, leadership and delegation and community engagement were ranked highly by participants. Communication skills to facilitate teamwork, risk communication and shared understanding were ranked as important. 

 Conclusions:  

The research provided understanding of national and regional capacity needs of the OH workforce, enabling development of a list of priority One Health competencies to advise APCOVE OH training. This research approach provides a template for co-designing One Health training initiatives, to ensure competency aligned capacity-building efforts to support effective One Health operationalisation.