| Course | INHE 1005 Foundations of Integrative Health |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 9 |
| Paper type | Concept brief |
| Length | About 570 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Integrative Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for INHE 1005 Week 9
Making "Whole Person" Do Some Work: A Concept Brief Testing Four Named Dimensions Against One Described Case and Keeping Only Those That Changed It
Student Name
Walden University
INHE 1005: Foundations of Integrative Health
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Making "Whole Person" Do Some Work: A Concept Brief Testing Four Named Dimensions Against One Described Case and Keeping Only Those That Changed It
The Concept and Its Source
"Whole person" appears in almost every paper in this course, usually as praise for an approach rather than as a description of anything. This brief takes the phrase from one source and tests it. The federal research center explains whole person health as looking at the person as a whole rather than at separate organs or body systems, and it names interconnected biological, behavioral, social and environmental areas that together shape health (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health [NCCIH], 2023). Those four areas are the dimensions tested below. The idea has older roots: Engel (1977) argued that medicine needed a model that accounted for psychological and social factors alongside biology.
The Case
A 52-year-old school bus driver has had pain in her right knee for eight months. Her physician has diagnosed osteoarthritis, recommended weight loss and prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication. A description limited to her knee would say: moderate osteoarthritis, pain worse after driving, partial relief from medication. The case is fictional and was built for this brief.
Testing Each Dimension
Biological. Asking about her body as a whole, not only the knee, adds that she has type 2 diabetes and that her blood sugar has risen since the pain began because she walks less. This changes the description: the knee is now linked to a second condition, and pain control matters for her diabetes too. Kept.
Behavioral. Asking about habits adds that she stopped her evening walks and now eats dinner in the car between routes. This changes the description, because the weight-loss advice meets a schedule that makes it hard to follow. Kept.
Social. Asking about relationships and roles adds that she cares for her father after work and has no time for appointments outside her split shift. This changes what any plan can include: physical therapy three times a week during working hours is not realistic. Kept.
Environmental. Asking about her surroundings adds that she lives in an apartment with stairs and drives a bus whose seat she cannot adjust. The stairs matter little; she reports no trouble with them. The seat came up, but she has driven the same model of bus for twelve years without knee pain until recently. On this case, the environmental dimension added detail but did not change what the description contained about her health or her options. Dropped for this case.
What the Test Shows
Three of four dimensions changed the description. Each did so by connecting the knee to something else: another condition, a daily routine, a caregiving role. That connection is what the center's description emphasizes, and it is what separates a whole person description from a longer list of facts. The field's research leaders have argued that studying these connections, not single therapies in isolation, is the direction the field should take (Langevin, 2021). The fourth dimension did not earn its place here, which does not mean it is unimportant; for another person, housing or air quality might change everything.
A Working Rule for Later Papers
In this course, "whole person" will be used only when a paper names the dimensions it examined and says what each changed. A dimension that changes nothing will be named as checked and set aside. That makes the phrase a method rather than a compliment.
References
Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286), 129-136. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460
Langevin, H. M. (2021). Moving the complementary and integrative health research field toward whole person health. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 27(8), 623-626. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2021.0255
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2023). Whole person health: What you need to know. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/whole-person-health-what-you-need-to-know
What the INHE 1005 Week 9 instructions ask for
Concept brief assignments ask students to explain one key concept from the course and show how it applies. Prompts often specify a concept such as whole person health, wellness or healing, and ask students to define it from a source and apply it to a case or example. Briefs are usually short, two to three pages. Instructors look for a concept that does work in the analysis. Briefs that define the concept and then praise it, or that apply every part to the case regardless of fit, usually score below briefs that put the concept to a test. Prompts may supply the case or ask students to build one; when students build it, a fictional case is expected rather than a real person. A brief of this kind is often graded on whether the concept changed the analysis, not on how many parts were mentioned.
Inside the INHE 1005 Week 9 example
The brief takes four dimensions from the federal research center's description and notes the concept's roots in Engel's model. A fictional case is described first in narrow clinical terms. Each dimension is then tested in turn, with a short paragraph saying what it added and whether that changed the description. Three are kept and one is dropped, with a reason. A section explains what the kept dimensions have in common: each connected the knee to something else. A final section turns the test into a rule for later papers. Each dimension's paragraph opens with its name, which lets the reader follow the test at a glance.
Reading the INHE 1005 Week 9 rubric
Instructors generally reward a concept taken from a named source and applied with discipline. Naming the dimensions from one source, rather than inventing them, earns a solid share. Testing each against a case and saying what it changed secures the main credit. Dropping a dimension that did not matter for this case shows that the test was real, and is often what distinguishes the strongest briefs. Explaining what the kept dimensions share adds analysis. A rule for later use shows the concept will keep working. APA citations to the center, Engel and Langevin complete it. Clear signposting, with each dimension named at the start of its paragraph, makes a short brief easy to grade.
Common INHE 1005 Week 9 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Take your concept's parts from one source and list them. Write a short case in narrow terms first, so you can see what each part adds. Test each part: what new information does it bring, and does that change the description or the options? Keep the parts that change something and say why the others did not. Avoid praising the concept. If your brief keeps saying "holistic" without showing anything, we can write a sample brief with your case. Start each dimension's paragraph with its name so the structure is obvious.
Get a INHE 1005 Week 9 example written to your instructions
Send the prompt, the source your section uses for the dimensions and the length it allows, and a brief in this shape returns to you. The first one is written at no charge and comes back in 24 to 48 hours. The composite here was assembled for teaching, and where a prompt points at somebody real in your own life, that account belongs to them.
More INHE 1005 papers and BS in Integrative Health samples
- INHE 1005 Week 1: Working Definition Post
- INHE 1005 Week 2: Definition Paper
- INHE 1005 Week 3: Term Audit
- INHE 1005 Week 4: Field Overview
- INHE 1005 Week 5: Role Profile
- INHE 1005 Week 6: Boundary Rule Post
- INHE 1005 Week 7: Source Evaluation
- INHE 1005 Week 8: Approach Profile
- INHE 1005 Week 10: Position Paper
- INHE 1005 Week 11: Closing Reflection
INHE 1005 Week 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free INHE 1005 Week 9 sample paper?
The complete Week 9 concept brief appears above, testing whole person health against one case.
Which dimensions does the brief test?
Biological, behavioral, social and environmental, as named by the federal research center.
Why was the environmental dimension dropped?
For this case it added detail but did not change the description or her options.
Is the bus driver a real patient?
No. The case is fictional, built for the brief.
What rule does the brief set for later papers?
Use "whole person" only when naming the dimensions examined and what each changed.