Stimulating collaboration between human and veterinary health care professionals

BACKGROUND: Despite the need to control outbreaks of (emerging) zoonotic diseases and the need for added value in comparative/translational medicine, jointly addressed in the One Health approach [One health Initiative (n.d.a). About the One Health Initiative. http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/about.php. Accessed 13 September 2016], collaboration between human and veterinary health care professionals is limited. This study focuses on the social dilemma experienced by health care professionals and ways in which an interdisciplinary approach could be developed. RESULTS: Based on Gaertner and Dovidio’s Common Ingroup Identity Model, a number of questionnaires were designed and tested; with PROGRESS, the relation between collaboration and common goal was assessed, mediated by decategorization, recategorization, mutual differentiation and knowledge sharing. This study confirms the Common Ingroup Identity Model stating that common goals stimulate collaboration. Decategorization and mutual differentiation proved to be significant in this relationship; recategorization and knowledge sharing mediate this relation. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the Common Ingroup Identity Model theory helps us to understand how health care professionals perceive the One Health initiative and how they can intervene in this process. In the One Health approach, professional associations could adopt a facilitating role.