Hediger K Meisser A Zinsstag J 2019 BACKGROUND The integration of animals into healthcare, referred to as animal-assisted intervention, is a rapidly growing research field and was previously related to One Health. However, the assessment of synergistic effects of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) has been poorly addressed to date. METHOD We discuss experiences in integrated human and animal assessments in AAI and provide a methodical framework for One Health approaches in AAI research. We propose theoretical consideration of an integrated human and animal health assessment, as well as the use of such an integrated approach in research. Based on the existing research, we argue that, for a deeper understanding of AAI mechanisms, parallel research designs are needed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Our paper shows that a One Health study design is necessary to ensure that a tradeoff in health of animals is prevented and that an added value, or synergistic benefit, can be achieved on both sides during animal-assisted interventions. application/pdf https://sonar.ch/global/documents/270810 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3390/ijerph16040640 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/30795602 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess International journal of environmental research and public health. - 2019 One Health animal welfare animal-assisted interventions animal-assisted therapy human-animal relationship Animals Humans One Health Research A One Health Research Framework for Animal-Assisted Interventions. http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501