Achieving inter- and transdisciplinarity in Ecohealth: insights from a rodent-borne disease project in a polycrisis era

Abstract

Introduction: Inter- and transdisciplinary research (ITDR) is increasingly promoted to address “wicked problems”, particularly in health sectors adopting approaches like Ecohealth. Our Ecohealth-inspired project on rodent-borne diseases, initiated just before the COVID-19 pandemic, provided an opportunity to evaluate ITDR implementation. Methods: We employed a recently developed semi-quantitative evaluation method to measure our project’s success in achieving ITDR and analyzed factors influencing this achievement. Results: The project showed strengths in system description, team task allocation, and data sharing, but had lower scores in engaging societal actors throughout the project cycle. Discussion: We identified the underexplored influence of problem wickedness as a critical determinant of ITDR success. Addressing rodent-borne diseases, a less wicked problem, limited engagement potential but enabled constructive dialog with local actors. These insights are vital for addressing variably wicked problems in a polycrisis era. We propose recommendations to strengthen researchers’ capacities, particularly in Ecohealth.