Undertaking One Health Research with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities: Implications of a One Health Pilot Study

This case study presents the research process and learnings from undertaking One Health research within Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community settings. One Health is relevant to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where people and animals (commonly dogs and cats) live closely together and face health risks due to barriers in accessing animal health care. One Health is an appropriate approach to understanding and addressing health disparities as it aligns with community and cultural contexts that recognise the relationships between the health of people, animals and the shared environment. However, with minimal evidence in this space, the contribution of One Health to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is not well understood limiting the ability to implement One Health approaches and address the needs of communities, families, animals and the environment. This case study describes the research approach, methodology and implications from a pilot One Health study undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that adopted Indigenous research methodologies within a One Health framework.