One Health in practice: Benefits and challenges of multisectoral coordination and collaboration in managing public health risks: A meta-analysis

Background and Aim: One Health (OH) approach is crucial for the effective management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and other public health threats. A meta-analysis was conducted to explore the benefits and challenges encountered in the practical implementation of multisectoral coordination in the fight against public health threats and to identify similarities between countries in the practical implementation of multisectoral coordination and cooperation across sectors in OH. Materials and Methods: To identify relevant studies published globally between 2010 and 2023, a literature search was conducted online using Google Scholar and PubMed search engines. Inclusion criteria were adopted based on key search terms “One Health,” “multisectoral coordination,” “One Health framework,” and related terms “multisectoral collaboration” and “multidisciplinary.” Unpublished manuscripts, dissertations, and conference reports were excluded from the review. A total of 307 articles were retrieved. Titles, abstracts, and keywords were screened for inclusion criteria. We extracted and analyzed 46 full-text articles published in English. Unpublished manuscripts, dissertations, and conference reports were excluded from the study. Results: This study found that most countries have similar challenges that hamper the coordination of OH activities implementation. Of the 46 articles reviewed, 69.6% (n = 32) focused on the benefits of adopting the OH approach and 73.9% (n = 34) focused on multisectoral coordination and collaboration among sectors. In addition, 58.7% (n = 27) of the articles indicated that governments need to invest more resources in OH implementation, and 50% (n = 23) proposed that policies, guidelines, and plans should be integrated to facilitate multisectoral coordination and collaboration. In addition to inadequate coordination and funding, other reported challenges were limited knowledge (34.8%) (n = 16) and inadequate resources (32.6%) (n = 15). In addition, 21.7% (n = 10) highlighted different sectoral priorities and interests as obstacles to effective coordination in the implementation of OH activities. Conclusion: Multisectoral coordination plays a key role in the effective management of public health threats through OH. The creation of mechanisms for regular communication, the promotion of mutual trust, and the strengthening of relations between sectors will enhance cooperation. The similarity in challenges across regions observed in this study calls for countries across regions to prioritize OH operationalization and collaboration among sectors, strengthen collaboration, and synergize activities to enhance future changes in the mitigation of public health threats.