The Whole Person Health Index: A Self-Reported Tool to Assess Whole Person Health

Whole Person Health is emerging as an important concept at the forefront of efforts to address the current "epidemic" of chronic disease in the US. Successfully tackling a research agenda on Whole Person Health and delivering actionable results requires a tool to (1) measure multiple outcomes related to Whole Person Health in an integrated manner, (2) assess whether an individual is moving toward or away from health by repeating the measurement over time, and (3) test interventions aimed at assisting individuals in moving toward better health. This Viewpoint article describes a new person-centered measure, the Whole Person Health Index (WPHI), derived from nine questions covering key elements of Whole Person Health. The nine questions are currently being administered in the cross-sectional National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the All of Us research cohort. Each question is rated on a 5 point scale (poor to excellent), and the WPHI can be calculated as the sum of scores such that an increase in WPHI over time represents improvement. The WPHI may be useful in research and surveillance as a measure of change in self-perceived health and health-related behaviors over time, and with individuals in clinical settings to promote greater engagement in self-care and achievement of personal health goals. The purpose of this Viewpoint communication is to make the research community aware of the opportunity to freely use the instrument questions.