Approaches and frameworks for studying zoonotic diseases and forced migration of people
Citation: Tasker A, Braam D. Positioning zoonotic disease research in forced migration: A systematic literature review of theoretical frameworks and approaches. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(7):e0254746.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Gates-Cambridge Trust (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
What is this? Population movement, or human displacement, is a significant risk factor that contributes to the emergence, transmission and distribution of zoonotic diseases (which are diseases transmitted from animals to humans).
In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of zoonotic diseases during forced migration of people and reports of theoretical frameworks used to study zoonotic disease dynamics. They restricted their searches to articles published in English between 1975 and June 2020. They included 23 articles.
What was found: Eleven frameworks or approaches were used in total and there has been an increase in use of interdisciplinary frameworks over time, with approaches such as One Health and EcoHealth being increasingly common.
One Health approaches were often applied to the behavior and movement of reservoir species and discovery risk factors of zoonotic diseases, whereas EcoHealth approaches were often used to explore land use change and disease.
Research on zoonotic disease in forced migration is increasingly applying interdisciplinary approaches including social, environmental and biological complexity which is a shift towards public health-based understanding, but more research is needed.
The authors argue that identified approaches were more often linked to program implementation and development than broader contextual research and have failed to consider the heterogeneity and complexity of migrant populations, lacked contextual depth, and provided insufficient acknowledgment of migrant agency in responding to zoonotic threats.
Implications: The authors of the review concluded that robust interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks are an important step to understand the complex drivers of zoonotic diseases in forced migration.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discuss their findings in the context of place of residence.
This summary was prepared by Tuba Yavuz, edited by Sydney Johnson and finalized by Mike Clarke.