A Perspective on the Measurement of Whole Person Health.

Abstract

There is growing interest in moving away from a reductionistic view of the person and the health services they need to focus on improving the health of the whole person. However, there needs to be agreement about what this focus entails and how to measure its achievement. From this perspective, we offer suggestions for moving the measurement discussion forward. Our key suggestion is to separate the measurement of whole person health (WPH)-that is, the end goal or ultimate outcome we want to improve and/or maintain-from the measurement of WPH determinants-that is, the things that can be intervened upon to maximize WPH. We also offer some next steps toward developing a measure of WPH.