Spiritual Wellness, Holistic Health, and the Practice of Health Education

The current practice of health education often fails to harmonize with the multidimensional, dynamic, and functional nature of health as generally defined within our profession. As a stepchild of the medical and public health professions, we have inherited a preoccupation with physical health as the most worthy outcome measure for most of our programs. Yet other dimensions of health seem equally important and even essential to the overall well-being of program participants. There exists an opportunity for health educators to move toward models of health promotion that more fully appreciate the interconnectedness of various dimensions of health and that promote them evenhandedly. This article argues that spiritual health is an underlying dimension that contributes to social and emotional health, which in turn provide motivation for health behavior changes that determine physical and intellectual health. To the degree attained, physical and intellectual health become tools for realizing the purpose and meaning in life that the spiritual worldview portrays. Practical application of this model requires a partial break from the biological orientations of other health professions, new research agendas that clarify multidimensional health relationships, and new educational approaches that are capable of promoting positive outcomes in a variety of health dimensions.