Ashley McKaig
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Dr. Nikhil Parekh
Co-Presenter: Branham , Sophie
Research Mentor School/College/Department: VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System / NonUM
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Ashley McKaig, Nikhil Parekh, Sophie Branham
Presenter: 114
Abstract
Whole Health is the concept of approaching health care with a holistic, evidenced-based, and proactive perspective, with an emphasis on the individual. The Whole Health program has been implemented into the Veteran Affairs (VA) health care system as a way to promote complete well-being for Veterans, as opposed to solely a clinical-based approach. Some prominent challenges that the Whole Health system has been tasked to reform include chronic illness, mortality rates, health care costs, and burnout. The Circle of Whole Health has been developed to define a framework of the main aspects of health and wellness. The eight sectors of this encompassing perspective include Moving the body, Surroundings, Personal development, Food and drink, Recharge, Family, friends, and co-workers, Spirit and soul, and Power of the mind. In an attempt to increase understanding of the Whole Health system in the VA, a survey has been created to assess the well-being of veterans, their families, and clinicians. Initial research was conducted to explore all eight pillars of health, with the cultivation of a survey that is comprehensive and capable of extracting meaningful data from the respondents. This online survey will be sent out to participants of the specified demographic categories in a randomized manner, and the responses will be collected through Qualtrics. Further tools such as Excel may be incorporated to organize the survey data. Statistical analysis will be conducted when all data collected has been completed. Hypotheses will be generated and conclusions and future directions will be established. Furthermore, the survey results will be presented to the Joint Commission, an organization that provides hospital accreditation and has expressed specific interest in the Whole Health program.
Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Public Health
