Supporting “One Health” Collaborations in Environmental Health Applications

Global environmental health threats continue to challenge scientists and practitioners in their research and community health initiatives. In 2012, the World Health Organization estimated that 12.6 million deaths (1 in 4 deaths) were linked to residing or working in unhealthy environments. Of this total, 6.5 million annual premature deaths (1 in 9 deaths) were associated to air pollution. To enhance understanding of these harmful effects on the dynamic processes of aquatic, atmospheric, and terrestrial ecosystems, the “One Health” concept should be adopted and implemented in current and future environmental health applications. This holistic framework promotes the use of transdisciplinary collaborations that aim to recognize risk factors and apply innovative methods to health interventions, which are linked to human, animal, and environmental health. These applications can highlight knowledge gaps within traditional practices, encouraging environmental health researchers and practitioners to seek additional data and tools to achieve established objectives. For example, NASA satellite data and tools provide quantitative environmental measurements, which can be used to examine air quality standards and interpret ecological relationships, as a foundation for health interventions. In this paper, we will describe the “One Health” concept and benefit of incorporating this framework into environmental health applications that use satellite data. We will highlight two examples where “One Health” collaborations in Earth and health sciences can offer a holistic vision for health decision-making. By supporting One Health collaborations in environmental health, researchers and practitioners can advance scientific practices, strengthen communication among stakeholders, and improve public health surveillance and protection.