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The Post Save The Date: May 22nd for Symposium on Advancing Whole Person Health

Save The Date: May 22nd for Symposium on Advancing Whole Person Health

We invite you to join us at the University of Utah on May 22, 2025, for a daylong symposium, “Extending Return on Investment: A Multi-Sector Approach to Whole-Person Health,” hosted by the Osher Center for Integrative Health and the Driving Out Diabetes Initiative. This symposium is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation and Strengthening Pathways: A National Conversation about Health Research. The University of Utah is hosting one of 18 symposia designed to better translate innovation from prevention and care research to maximize societal benefit.

This symposium will explore a new paradigm for economic evaluation—the Collective Return on Investment (ROI). Traditional ROI models often fail to capture the full impact of health interventions, policies, and programs, particularly their long-term benefits for whole person health (WPH) and prevention. Our goal is to develop recommendations for a shared-impact model that better reflects the value of multisector investments in health across urban and rural communities.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Whole Person Health – Physical, behavioral, spiritual, and socioeconomic well-being.
  • Developing a Model for Collective ROI – Rethinking how we measure the impact of prevention and health interventions.
  • Social & Structural Determinants of Health – Examining how factors like policy, environment, and access shape health outcomes.

Why This Matters:

This symposium will drive innovative, actionable strategies for multisector collaboration to improve health. Employers and payors can assess the benefits of expanded coverage, policymakers can consider regulatory approaches that prioritize prevention, and healthcare organizations can explore new ways to align patient-clinician interactions with long-term wellness. Additionally, sectors such as transportation and local government can examine their role in creating healthier communities.

Discussions from this event will inform research, policy, and funding decisions that support evidence-based, multisector interventions in WPH. We anticipate developing key outputs, including a symposium report, an action plan, and scholarly publications outlining frameworks and evaluation models for WPH interventions in the Mountain West and beyond.

We hope you’ll join us in shaping the future of health and prevention. Please register to attend. Click here to register.