Items of Interest December 19, 2011 Issue

New view of health emerges in medical community, linking spiritual and physical health

Vanessa Summers

“Medicine and faith merge for better health” IndyStar.com. September 29, 2011.

In the United States, more than 70 percent of deaths are due to chronic diseases, and communities of color are disproportionally affected. . . .

At one time, the medical community looked at disease through a traditional model that emphasized the molecular and cellular causes of death and illness. Now, since the major causes of death and illness in this country are primarily lifestyle-related, the medical community is reexamining its medical models.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently studied the future of health and health care in America and forecasts the gradual adoption of an expanded view of health by the medical establishment. This view incorporates social, mental, and spiritual factors.

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