2020 healthy pets healthy families: Engaging the community in one health

Healthy pets can lead to healthier families. This is the philosophy of the 2020 Healthy Pets, Healthy Families Initiative (2020HPHF), created in 2010 by the Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Public Health (DPH) Veterinary Public Health Program (VPH) as an innovative approach to improving human and animal health locally. 2020HPHF is the first local program to apply the national Healthy People 2020 framework to the One Health concept, focusing on the connection between human health, animal health and the ecosystem.

First, VPH reviewed existing animal disease surveillance data and developed several new surveys to assess local pet health. VPH then created a local One Health collaborative, the 2020HPHF Coalition, bringing together a variety of local animal and human health professionals and organizations to participate in the initiative and build partnerships. In 2012, the group met quarterly to collectively identify and prioritize key animal health issues, as well as set local animal health goals for the year 2020. We have selected seven focus areas, where we believe we may have the greatest impact on local health: zoonotic diseases, dog bites, obesity, second-hand smoke, disaster preparedness, vaccine preventable diseass and spay/neuter.

2020HPHF serves to promote the health of the broader LAC population, both human and animal. The coaliton has been a venue for increased communication, collaboration and stimulating action. Over the next decade, the coalition will be developing interventions targeted to improve animal and human health, gathering data to monitor impact and identifying best practices.