A Model of Health Environmental Integration

Abstract

The spheres of health environmental integration (HEI) combine contemporary models of disease and disability and expand them with historic theories of the mind/body relationship. The basic premise is that neither the person nor his or her neurological sequelae can be characterized fully without viewing the environment as a dynamic system of which he or she and it are a part. Stroke rehabilitation based on such an integrative medical model could facilitate the health professional’s understanding of how alternative treatments affect the patient’s quality of life and experiences within environmental contexts.

Keywords:

• behavior
• body image
• disability models
• disease
• environmental models
• social perception
• stroke
• quality of life theory