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Review
. 2017 Jan 17;12(1):e0169198.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169198. eCollection 2017.

Review of Participatory Epidemiology Practices in Animal Health (1980-2015) and Future Practice Directions

Alberto Allepuz  1   2 , Katinka de Balogh  3 , Ryan Aguanno  3 , Martin Heilmann  3 , Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo  3
Affiliations
Review

Review of Participatory Epidemiology Practices in Animal Health (1980-2015) and Future Practice Directions

Alberto Allepuz et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In this study we combined an inventory of the major applications, geographic regions and diseases covered by participatory epidemiology (PE) activities in the field of animal health since 1980, together with an email discussion forum with PE practitioners from different regions of the world. The inventory included the search of peer-reviewed papers, master and technical reports, conference proceedings, manuals, training materials and projects. The search resulted in a low number of PE activity results until the year 2000, followed by a considerable increase (especially from 2012). Most of the identified activities were implemented in Africa and Asia, and focused on surveillance, disease survey and prioritization, and disease control. Seventy-nine PE practitioners working predominantly in Africa, Asia and Europe (29, 22 and 18 respectively) contributed to the email discussion forum. They proposed various modifications to the existing PE definition and discussed different issues related to the applicatoin of PE, its institutionalization for use in policy development, as well as the priorities for future development. The need to increase the number of PE trained people together with some methodological developments and the application of this methodology in developed countries, were some of the points highlighted during the forum. These factors stress the importance of further developing PE as a useful approach for engaging communities in addressing animal and related public health risks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow diagram: search strategy steps.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Number of participatory epidemiology activities by year and applications.
DC: Evaluation of disease control methods; DE: Descriptive epidemiology; DI: Disease investigation and diagnosis; DM: Disease modelling; DS: Disease survey and prioritization; ECO: Economic or livelihood impact of disease; EV: Evaluation of veterinary service delivery; RE: Research; SU: Surveillance; TE: Training; VPH: Veterinary Public Health.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Number of participatory epidemiology activities in America.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Number of participatory epidemiology activities in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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MeSH terms

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