Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. One Health
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1423501
This article is part of the Research Topic One Health Approaches and Modelling in Parasitology in the Climate Change Framework and Possible Supporting Tools Adopting GIS and Remote Sensing View all articles

Are we joining the One Health dots? A scoping review of research on the One Health effects of extreme weather events in eastern Australia

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
  • 2 University of Sydney, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
  • 3 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2008, Australia
  • 4 Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
  • 5 Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4226, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Extreme weather events such as floods, bushfires, cyclones, and drought, are projected to increase in eastern Australia. Understanding how these events influence the combined, sustainable well-being of humans, animals, and ecosystems -that is One Health --will enable development of transdisciplinary and ultimately more effective interventions. A scoping review was conducted to explore the research associated with the effects of extreme weather events in eastern Australia using a One Health lens, specifically identifying the type of extreme weather events studied, the research conducted in the context of One Health, and gaps to inform improved One Health implementation. The review followeding JBI guidelines (based on PRISMA). Eligible research was peer-reviewed, in English, and published since 2007, in which primary research studies investigated the impact of extreme weather events in eastern Australia on at least two of ecosystems, human health, and animal health. Using structured search terms, six databases were searched. Following removal of duplicates, 870 records were screened by two reviewers. Eleven records were eligible for data extraction and charting. The scope of extreme weather events studied was relatively limited, with studies in flood and bushfire settings predominating, but relatively little research on cyclones. Major health themes included more than the impact of extreme weather events on physical health (zoonotic and vector-borne diseases) through investigation of social well-being and meantal health in the context of the human-animal bond in evacuation behaviours and drought. Research gaps include studies across a broader range of extreme weather events and health topics, as well as a more comprehensive approach to including the impacts of extreme weather events on all three domains of One Health. The limited research focus inevitably translates to limited recommendations for policy, planning and response to manage extreme weather event emergencies. Given the expected increase in frequency of these events, there is a critical need for more comprehensive primary research to better identify strategies and facilitate implementation of One Health promotion for improved outcomes in extreme weather event emergencies.

    Keywords: extreme weather events, Human health, animal health (Source: MeSH, ecosystems, One Health, Eastern Australia, Scoping review

    Received: 21 May 2024; Accepted: 11 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ward, Brookes and Rahman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kazi M. Rahman, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4226, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.