2023-10-13 15:37:00
One Health is not known but should be widespread in schools. 78% of students have never heard of the global strategy based on the interconnection between the health of humans, animals and plants. This is slightly better than the 83% of the older sample (18-65 years). Even if 88% of children do not know of any projects with this in mind, 9 out of 10 believe that their school should be interested in this global strategy. These are some of the results of the national survey ‘School and One Health’, released today in Rome, at the presentation event of the ‘One Health-Schools in action’ path during the third edition of the ReWriters fest.
Carried out on a sample of 600 male and female students between 16 and 18 years old, representative by gender and geographical area, the national survey was carried out in September 2023 using the Cawi method. The data were compared with the results of a previous survey on the perception of One Health carried out in March 2023 in the 18-65 population, to understand the extent to which young people’s knowledge and representations differ from those of adults. The surveys are part of the ‘One Health Project’ path promoted by the Esg Culture Lab of Eikon Strategic Consulting Italia Società Benefit and by Healthware Group with the support of the Msd Foundation as main sponsor and the SS hospital. Antonio and Biagio and Cesare Arrigo from Alessandria as supporters.
Unlike the One Health approach – the survey highlights – 87% have heard about the 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals at school. Above all, the centrality of recycling emerges. References to the social sphere are marginal and refer to the area of health, recycling and the connection with health refer to the importance of circularity, but no explicit spontaneous references emerge to the interdependence between humans and non-humans in the vision of sustainability. Even if students do not know One Health, when encouraged to reflect on it, they show strong adherence to this vision. 55% believe that the well-being of humans, animals, plants and the environment is strictly dependent, a figure however lower than the population 18-65 (75%). Skeptics are few, but higher than the general population (13% vs. 4%). 51% believe that everyone should engage in integrated care, but compared to the 18-65 sample, younger people attribute greater importance to the role of politics (33% vs. 26%).
The survey also explored spontaneous representations of humans, animals, plants and the environment and their relationship to each other. The imagination about humans is very negative, dominated by an intelligence that is associated with destruction, stupidity and selfishness. Animals, plants and nature instead embody positivity and beauty, threatened by human action. However, these representations do not generate fatalistic attitudes or disengagement. On the contrary, a strong propensity towards prevention emerges. Male and female students seem willing to change their lifestyle, both to improve the health of themselves and others (85%), that of animals (82%) and plants and the environment (82%). In this context, almost 9 out of 10 believe that schools should also commit to teaching prevention and correct lifestyles.
One Health is confirmed as a reference approach also with respect to concrete objectives such as activism, antibiotic resistance and healthy eating. Compared to the 18-65 sample, the younger ones show greater attention to the problems linked to intensive agriculture. Despite the destructive portrait of human action, male and female students seem to believe in the importance of people and relationships as a source of well-being. To feel better, 43% choose to spend more time with friends, while 41% of the 18-65 sample prefer to spend more time in nature and 55% believe that this approach is useful in preventing new diseases. Additionally, 28%, compared to 18% of adults, worry about creating better conditions for humans. Finally, 47% think that digital technologies will become fundamental to caring for humans, animals, plants and the environment. A figure significantly higher than the 33% expressed by the adult sample.
Among the students of Italian schools – concludes the survey – at this moment there seems to be very fertile ground for a new systemic and collaborative approach to health, which enhances One Health as a new vision and strategy for a sustainable future, with a very broad consensus. The areas of skepticism are marginal but more significant than in the 18-65 population. A training action capable of involving and motivating is therefore confirmed as fundamental in order not to dissipate an important heritage of trust in the possibility of generating a new positive relationship between the human and non-human world.
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