From animal ethics to climate change: Integrating human-animal-studies and one health into medical education

The increasing interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health has drawn attention to educational approaches that extend beyond biomedical knowledge and engage with ethical and systemic dimensions of health within the One Health framework. This study evaluates an interdisciplinary digital lecture series on human-animal relationships developed at Witten/Herdecke University (Germany) and examines its impact on participants' ethical orientations toward animals and their understanding of One Health. The fourteen-week lecture series, conducted during the winter semester 2024/25, combined expert-led lectures from medicine, ethics, veterinary science, law, and theology with interactive and reflective elements. A pre-post survey design was applied using the Animal Ethics Orientation Scale and adapted items from a One Health education survey. Data from students and members of the public were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as paired and independent-samples tests. Participation in the lecture series was associated with substantial shifts toward more restrictive and animal-protective ethical attitudes. Awareness and valuation of One Health principles were also strengthened. While paired analyses showed stronger effects for animal ethics, independent-samples analyses indicated broader improvements in One Health understanding. These findings suggest that interdisciplinary, ethics-oriented educational formats can support ethical reflection and systems thinking in health-related education. Integrating human-animal relationships into One Health teaching may contribute to the development of competencies relevant to addressing complex health challenges.