Council Working Groups

Advisory Council Working Group on Spiritual Health 

Originally, whole person health was defined in NCCIH’s strategic plan as empowering individuals, families, communities, and the population by improving health through interconnected biological, psychological or behavioral, social, and environmental domains. Based on feedback by the public and recent ongoing discussions across the health care field in general, the question arose whether NCCIH’s current framework should be extended to include spirituality as one of the interconnected domains, along with biological, behavioral, social, and environmental. Currently, spirituality is not in NCCIH’s definition of whole person health. These considerations led to the recommendation for the formation of an Advisory Council Working Group on Spiritual Health to further address this topic during the January 2024 council meeting.

• Member Roster (170KB PDF)

Charge of the working group:   

• How do spiritual practices and spiritual health fit in the concept of whole person health? 
• What research gaps need to be addressed with respect to:
  • Spiritual practices? 
  • Spiritual health?
• What research methods are needed to address these gaps?
• Under what research category would spiritual health best fit? 

Related Resources:

• May 17, 2024 Council Presentation “Spiritual Health on Working Group,” Helene Benveniste, M.D., Ph.D. 
• “Including Spirituality Into a Fuller Picture of Research on Whole Person Health” (Director’s Message)