Purpose: The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit public comment on defining a set of key determinants of health that addresses all the elements of the whole person health model, i.e., factors that can influence health either positively or negatively, and that encompass the full continuum of biological, behavioral, social, and environmental domains.
NCCIH is currently seeking to compile a list of major determinants of health that encompass the full continuum of biological, behavioral, social, and environmental domains. This list could ultimately be used to identify a set of common data elements (CDEs) to be used in either research or patient care. We are limiting this request to no more than 20 determinants to ensure a list sufficiently comprehensive to capture the key elements of whole person health, yet succinct enough to be manageable in terms of any eventual development/deployment of a CDE-based measurement tool.
Some potential examples could include age, genetic predisposition, sleep, social connectedness, and environmental exposures, to name a few. Where possible, the proposed determinants should be listed as Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms to ensure consistency and interoperability. Note that a single determinant may span multiple domains (i.e., biological, behavioral, social, and environmental) and may interact with other determinants in causal and/or consequential roles. For example, psychological stress may be a consequence of socioeconomic factors, social support networks, environmental exposures, and genetic predisposition while simultaneously playing a causal role in unhealthy sleep habits and further exacerbating negative outcomes in socioeconomic factors and social support networks. As such, our goal is to identify a concise list of major determinants that best define the health/disease continuum from the whole person perspective, regardless of any potential interrelationships with other determinants.
How to Submit a Response: Response to this RFI is voluntary and may be submitted anonymously. To respond to this RFI, please enter your responses in this webform. To ensure consideration, responses must be submitted by June 17th, 2022.
NOT-AT-22-019