Theoretical Framework for Integrating One Health Approaches into Community Health Practice in Nigeria

Zoonotic disease emergence, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety challenges that simultaneously affect human, animal, and environmental health in Nigeria require One Health approaches that integrate community medicine with veterinary and environmental health disciplines, yet a contextualised theoretical framework for this integration in the Nigerian community health context has not been developed. This study developed an original theoretical framework for integrating One Health approaches into community health practice in Nigeria. A theory-building methodology was employed combining systematic review of One Health frameworks globally (55 publications, 2015 to 2024), analysis of Nigerian zoonotic disease burden data from NCDC and FMOH sources, and primary fieldwork involving structured interviews with 48 community health practitioners, veterinary officers, environmental health officers, and community members in five states representing different One Health risk contexts: Borno (Lassa fever), Plateau (brucellosis), Lagos (urban antimicrobial resistance), Bayelsa (aquatic zoonoses), and Niger (rabies). The systematic review identified that existing One Health frameworks were predominantly designed for institutional, national, or global-level coordination and inadequately addressed community-level practice integration. The original Nigerian Community One Health Integration Framework proposes five integration pillars: community-level zoonotic disease surveillance integration, shared community health worker and community animal health worker deployment models, intersectoral community health committee structure incorporating veterinary and environmental health representation, community-level antimicrobial stewardship communication, and ecosystem service-health linkage education for farming communities. Expert validation by 18 One Health, community medicine, and veterinary public health specialists confirmed the framework's originality and practical applicability.

Keywords: One Health, community health practice, zoonotic diseases, Nigeria, theoretical framework