An Assessment of Epidemiology Capacity in a One Health Team at the Provincial Level in Thailand

Abstract

A multi-sectoral core epidemiology capacity assessment was conducted in provinces that implemented One Health services in order to assess the efficacy of a One Health approach in Thailand. In order to conduct the assessment, four provinces were randomly selected as a study group from a total of 19 Thai provinces that are currently using a One Health approach. As a control group, four additional provinces that never implemented a One Health approach were also sampled. The provincial officers were interviewed on the epidemiologic capacity of their respective provinces. The average score of epidemiologic capacity in the provinces implementing the One Health approach was 66.45%, while the provinces that did not implement this approach earned a score of 54.61%. The epidemiologic capacity of surveillance systems in provinces that utilized the One Health approach earned higher scores in comparison to provinces that did not implement the approach (75.00% vs. 53.13%, p-value 0.13). Although none of the capacity evaluations showed significant differences between the two groups, we found evidence that provinces implementing the One Health approach gained higher scores in both surveillance and outbreak investigation capacities. This may be explained by more efficient capacity when using a One Health approach, specifically in preventing, protecting, and responding to threats in local communities.