Lizette Balderas
Pronouns:
Research Mentor(s): Dr. Nikhil Parekh
Research Mentor School/College/Department: VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System / NonUM
Program:
Authors:
Session: Session 4: 1:40 pm – 2:30 pm
Poster: 89
Abstract
Whole Health is a system of health that is based on the care of veterans at the VA Healthcare System. Whole Health focuses on many aspects relating to the health, but each strand really has its own details and components to it. Parts of Whole Health are mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and occupational. Whole Health emphasizes the interconnectedness between different aspects of health, and recognizes that all are important for a person’s overall well being. The purpose of the project that my group and I created is to learn about the interconnectedness between Whole Health and various areas of a person’s life. Before my team and I were able to create a research survey, we used a variety of references related to Whole Health, such as the Passport to Whole Health, the Circle of Health, and the Personal Health Inventory, to help us understand Whole Health. The Passport taught me that attention to one area of Whole Health, such as spiritual wellness, can positively impact other areas. The Circle of Health taught me the components of being in charge of your health and provided a well-being model. Lastly, the Personal Health Inventory taught me about myself and my well-being, what I strive for in making myself more healthy, and what I need to work on. It also made me think on how this could be useful in working with others such as veterans and even students. We also used research articles through PubMed to help us learn how to go about and understand the need for specific questions for the survey. We were able to use Qualtrics to create a survey to assess an individual’s Whole Health and areas of importance in life. After dispersing the survey to multiple people of different ages, genders, races, etc., we analyzed the data output and conducted statistical analysis using R Studio software. After analyzing the Whole Health survey, I think that I am finding it very interesting to learn about the interconnectedness between mental health and meditational exercises such as yoga, because I think that they reflect coping mechanisms. I am focusing on this area for a community implementation project, to teach individuals about this connection. This area interests me because I think that these connections explore a holistic journey to optimal health and wellness.
