We look at the whole picture, the entire lived experience that influences health.
Our work examines health through many lenses that intersect, and it often helps people who are underserved or experiencing trauma — for example, veterans suffering from PTSD, children with serious illness, low-income residents grappling with systemic racism and neglect, and others.
Stories are how humans have always passed on wisdom, but too often, tales of real-world impact can get lost in the world of academic research. We recognize the importance of getting science and evidence-based information to many different audiences in understandable and engaging formats.
We are finding new ways to tell positive stories of health and flourishing and developing relationships with advocates, policymakers, and journalists. Amplified through our strategic partnerships, our learnings can inspire better approaches, policies, and practices and significantly improve the health of individuals, communities, and the planet.
Beyond political and social perspectives, this is a population and public health issue—the end of Roe will further perpetuate serious and enduring health inequities, causing disproportionate harm to historically marginalized communities.
The Contributions of Social and Behavioral Research in Addressing the Opioid Crisis meeting convened a transdisciplinary array of experts to address the opioid crisis in the US.
Read commentary by Nova Scholar Fred Foote, who argues that health treatments for veterans and all Americans ought to include proven, non-medical interventions such as
It will truly take outrageous acts of courage to create the change we want to see, and it will require inclusivity and collaboration, combined with knowledge and experience, to improve the entire lived experience that influences health. That’s what we’ll be focusing on at Nova, and we are excited to tackle the challenge.
A burst of light. The sudden appearance of a bright, new star. In Latin, meaning “fresh, new, young.” These are all definitions of nova—and they are the inspiration behind our organization’s new name: Nova Institute for Health—of People, Places, and Planet.
Change never comes easily. Nothing important ever does, and there’s nothing more important than the work that is in front of us right now. I’ve been training my whole life for this moment, and so have our partners. Welcome to the future.
A clinical conversation between Dr. Chris D’Adamo and Robert Rountree, Editor in Chief at Integrative and Complementary Therapies, on the topics of nutritional epidemiology, culinary medicine, and community-based health promotion.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor George A. Kaplan, our friend and Nova Institute’s Senior Advisor to the Scholars and Fellows Program, for receiving
Institute Scholar Dr. Steven Woolf‘s recent study revealed that between 2018-2020 U.S. life expectancy dropped by a huge margin and disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic populations,
The field of allergy has long understood that ecological changes directly affect health – allergic conditions are sentinel measures of the impact of the environment
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor George A. Kaplan, our friend and Nova Institute’s Senior Advisor to the Scholars and Fellows Program, for receiving
What has changed, and how do we proceed? The pandemic has shone a clear light on the importance of community risk factors in shaping health
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Over the past thirty years, we’ve been part of a movement to shift the primary approach to health from a focus on disease to a more complete approach. As reflected in our tagline, “For Health of People, Places, and Planet,” how we are building on “person health” and looking at the context of peoples’ lives and communities as well as the health of the planet we all share.
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Healing is facilitated through safety, persistence, and trust.
Resources support us as we heal. They include reframing, responsibility, and positivity. “Making connections enabled participants to acquire and refine resources and skills that were essential in their healing journey. People also brought their own personal strengths to the journey.”
“Connection to others was an essential part of all the healing journeys.” Humans are social creatures, and even the most introverted of us need close relationships. Friends and family add meaning and value to life and help support us, in good times and bad.
When we experience relational trauma, relationships can feel scary, but reestablishing safety and trust in relationships is where the healing happens. (To be clear, we do not mean reestablishing safety and trust with abusers, but rather finding other healing relationships.)
“When safety and trust had been established, people were able to connect with helpers. The nature of the behaviours of helpers that fostered healing ranged from small acts of kindness to unconditional love.”
Healing probably means different things to different people, but one definition that emerged from the study is: “The re-establishment of a sense of integrity and wholeness.”
Healing was an emergent property that resulted from each individuals’ complex healing journey, a result of bridged connections between resources and relationships. “…they gradually found relief from suffering and began to exhibit emergent characteristics: a sense of hope, self-acceptance, and a desire to help others—the immediate precursors to healing.”
In varying degrees, “they were able to transcend their suffering and in some sense to flourish.”
Suffering is the ongoing pain from wounding.
There is debate about whether or not one actually needs to experience suffering on the path to healing.
Wounding happens when we experience physical or emotional harm. It can stem from chronic illness or by physical or psychological trauma for which we do not have the tools to cope, or a combination of those factors.
“The degree and quality of suffering experienced by each individual is framed by contextual factors that include personal characteristics, timing of their initial or ongoing wounding in the developmental life cycle and prior and current relationships.”
Characteristics: How predisposed someone may be to wounding/how many tools and resources someone may have to deal with trauma/illness.
Lifestages: Developmental timing plays an important role in the impact of trauma — young children often do not have the same resources as older adults.
Relationships: Relationships can provide solace and support for those suffering, while lack of healthy relationships can prolong suffering.
