Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 9:18:100693.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100693. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Enhancing community health: Veterinary services for underserved areas in Costa Rica with a One Health Approach

Ernesto Rojas-Sanchez  1 , Mauricio Pereira-Mora  1 , Karen Vega-Benavides  1 , Mauricio Jimenez-Soto  1
Affiliations

Enhancing community health: Veterinary services for underserved areas in Costa Rica with a One Health Approach

Ernesto Rojas-Sanchez et al. One Health. .

Abstract

In underserved areas of Costa Rica, community veterinary services aim to provide comprehensive care for companion animals, covering preventive, therapeutic, and surgical medicine. Emphasizing a One Health approach, our model focuses on animal welfare, health, and public well-being in vulnerable regions. The project's goal is to ensure the overall well-being of animals, people, and the environment by collaboratively addressing animal health issues and recognizing their interconnected impact on optimal health. Limited resources in underprivileged areas, including restricted access to veterinary care for pets, pose challenges to overall health. Despite its global health benefits, the absence of companion animal veterinary care in these regions has been largely overlooked. Our One Health approach not only addresses animal health but also has a significant impact on human and environmental health, economies, and social factors. This innovative strategy is a pioneering effort to tackle complex health issues in Costa Rica.

Keywords: Companion animal health; Health education; Thrust building; Veterinary access; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Mackenzie J.S., Jeggo M. The one health approach—why is it so important? Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2019;4:88. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed4020088. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gunvaldsen R. One health case studies: addressing complex problems in a changing world. Can. Vet. J. 2017;58:1223.
    1. Alves R.R.N., da Policarpo S.I. In: Ethnozoology. Nóbrega Alves R.R., Albuquerque U.P., editors. Academic Press; 2018. Chapter 13 - animals and human health: Where do they meet?∗; pp. 233–259. - DOI
    1. Rault J.-L., Waiblinger S., Boivin X., Hemsworth P. The Power of a Positive Human–Animal Relationship for Animal Welfare. Front. Vet. Sci. 2020;7 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.590867 (accessed May 13, 2023) - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Larson G., Karlsson E.K., Perri A., Webster M.T., Ho S.Y.W., Peters J., Stahl P.W., Piper P.J., Lingaas F., Fredholm M., Comstock K.E., Modiano J.F., Schelling C., Agoulnik A.I., Leegwater P.A., Dobney K., Vigne J.-D., Vilà C., Andersson L., Lindblad-Toh K. Rethinking dog domestication by integrating genetics, archeology, and biogeography. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2012;109:8878–8883. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1203005109. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources