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.
Our transdisciplinary community of Scholars and Fellows investigates critical questions, elevates evidence-based practices, and discovers cutting-edge solutions. These incredible thought leaders come from diverse fields—such as medicine, photobiology, atmospheric chemistry, epidemiology, and psychology—and their work examines the full spectrum of health, healing, and flourishing through many lenses. Here we share some highlights of their work.
The reasons for delayed medical care not directly related to cost are understudied. This new work from Nova Fellows Brita Roy and Carley Riley and
Nova Scholar Kurt Stange explores the various inequities and disparities that impact those living with epilepsy. “Inequities in health arise from policies and are facilitated by structural, health care, socio-cultural, and physiological factors.” This article also highlights key areas of intervention across the lifespan to strive towards health equity.
Trait mindfulness, the innate ability to pay attention to thoughts and present-moment experiences without judgment, is associated with well-being in college students. Nova Fellow Jeff Greeson’s article studied trait mindfulness across various college student groups.
This work by Nova Scholars Rebecca Etz and Kurt Stange and colleagues highlights the integral role primary care has played during the COVID-19 pandemic and
In the second Nova Interview, Dr. Christopher A. Lowry speaks with Nova Fellow Alan Logan about the intersections of gut microbiome, nature, and mental health.
In the inaugural Nova Interview, Nova Fellow, Alan C. Logan, meets Dr. Helene Langevin, Director of the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health to discuss the emerging concept of whole person health and how the concept intersects with the grand and interconnected challenges of our time.
Nova Scholar Kurt Stange examined urban and rural use of telemedicine visits before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nova Fellow Chris D’Adamo and Project Coordinator Gabriela Piedrahita focus on the relationship between gastrointestinal health, nutrient absorption, and thyroid dysfunction in an article published in Nutrients.
A Nova Campfire held in April 2022 explored the unprecedented global rise of mental health issues stemming from many interconnected and layered global factors. The
Nova Scholar Susan Prescott and colleagues’ recent article sought to understand the reporting levels and engagement of expecting and new mothers with digital mental health interventions.
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.
Nova Fellow Heidi Gullet and Scholar Kurt Stange co-authored an article published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice examining community-driven solutions to
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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.
