Research on Whole Person Care: 5 Takeaways for Facilities

Whole person care integrates the biological, behavioral, social, and environmental aspects of health to holistically treat patients rather than focusing on individual symptoms. While concepts related to whole person health have been floating around for centuries, these concepts weren’t developed into models for modern day medicine until recently.

If you’re a facility leader interested in learning about this up-and-coming care approach, this article is for you. We’ll outline five key takeaways from the emerging research on whole person care to help you better understand its benefits and applications.

What Is Whole Person Care?

As its name implies, this care approach focuses on treating the patient as a “whole” person. It’s aimed at promoting optimal health across a person’s lifespan, rather than addressing specific diseases as they arise. Moreover, health and disease aren’t seen as separate concepts — they’re treated as interconnected states that are influenced by several overlapping factors.

For example, chronic diseases like diabetes can occur alongside other conditions like depression — both of which are worsened by chronic stress. Whole person wellness focuses on helping patients manage stress early on to help prevent these diseases and maintain optimum health.

How Is Whole Person Care Applied in Practice?

Research on whole person care first started emerging around 2018. Since then, several healthcare systems and programs have developed their own models. While there’s currently no universal system for how this approach should be implemented, we’ll outline three examples of how it’s been utilized by leading organizations.

Research on Whole Person Care: 5 Key Takeaways

Research on whole person health is still quite limited since it’s a relatively new concept in modern medicine. However, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Whole Person Initiative was created in 2023 to encourage and fund more research in this area. Below, we’ll summarize the preliminary studies that have been used to inform advances on this framework in five key areas.

1. Standardizing the Meaning of “Whole Person Health”

While whole person care has similarities to integrative and holistic care, health experts don’t use these terms synonymously. A review conducted in 2018 was the first to distinguish whole person care from other, similar approaches. The researchers of this review identified six key aspects that define this framework:

1. A multidimensional, integrated approach to care
2. Emphasis on a therapeutic, patient-provider relationship
3. The provider’s ability to be self-aware while treating patients
4. A focus on the person rather than the disease
5. Viewing health as more than the absence of disease
6. Employing a range of treatment modalities

However, another review published in 2021 emphasized the need to standardize how these aspects are actually applied in practice. With the novelty of this approach, there’s still a lot of research that’s needed to shape its utility.

2. Methods for Assessing the “Whole Person”

Beyond defining this concept, researchers have also been working to identify ways that a “whole person” assessment can be conducted in primary care. A 2023 review was the first to identify and evaluate assessment tools that facilitate whole person care planning.

Ultimately, the researchers concluded that there’s no existing assessment tool that can be universally applied in general care settings. However, they did identify a few tools and methods that could be adapted for the whole person framework. Here are a few examples:

• Health Status Graph Assessment
• Personalized Health Planning
• Minnesota Complexity Assessment Method
• Pizzi Holistic Wellness Assessment

3. Improved Patient Experiences and Outcomes

Despite the lack of consistency in how whole person care has been used, preliminary research has shown how integrating different aspects of human health can enhance the patient experience and improve outcomes.

For example, one study funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) integrated primary care services into a community mental health setting. Over a five-year period, patients who received these “whole person” services showed improvements in both blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

4. Potential Cost Savings

Preliminary studies have also suggested that whole person approaches have the potential to reduce care costs. A study on the VA whole health home program showed that veterans who received care through this model spent an average of $4,845 less on healthcare than veterans receiving conventional services. Researchers believe that the preventative focus of this model may be the driver of these cost savings.

5. The Need to Improve Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Lastly, research on whole person care has highlighted the need to improve interdisciplinary collaboration in order to streamline its benefits. Because this framework revolves around the integration of biological, behavioral, social, and environmental health, there are many different stakeholders who must buy into this concept to drive its success.

This even goes beyond multidisciplinary collaboration within healthcare settings. Similar to the approach that North Carolina’s government is using, there must also be an integration of public and social services into patient care, which can help reduce societal barriers to health.

Stay Informed of the Latest Evidence-Based Practices

There’s still a lot of ongoing research on whole person care, and the evidence around it is constantly evolving alongside other practices. Looking for an easier way to stay in the know? Get the latest healthcare industry news and insights delivered straight to your inbox.