Hi, there! Tenay here. I wanted to share a little bit of our process with you as we progress through our National Science Foundation’s Research to Market program.
As we have continued conducting our semi-structured interviews with professionals in the health, wellness, and human services space, we’ve discovered that there is no single term to cover the spectrum of products and services that are required to restore a person to a thriving state. Therefore, we decided to try out the phrase, “care ecosystem” to represent the entire continuum of human well-being including: wellness, health care, and human services industries.
Below is our definition of “Care Ecosystem“:
| Care Node | Examples | Definition | Color/Shape/Icon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellness (including Preventive Health) | Fitness, Nutrition, Retreats, Meditation, Spirituality, Health Coaching, Community Care | Programs, practices, and services designed to maintain and improve overall physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, and prevent illness before it occurs. | Green, Leaf or heart |
| Healthcare (including Mental Health) | Hospitals, Primary Care, Specialists, Nursing, Therapy, Rehabilitation | Clinical services provided by trained professionals to diagnose, manage, and cure acute and chronic physical and mental health conditions. | Blue, Stethoscope or cross |
| Human Services | Caregivers (Family, Professional & Volunteer), Disability Supports, Social Services, Interpreters, Housing, Employment, Advocacy, Representation | Support systems that help individuals meet daily needs, maintain independence, access social and legal resources, and improve quality of life until they heal. | Red, Hands or heart |
And here are some graphics for you that highlight how this ecosystem is defined by the industry. Health and Wellness is the intersection of preventive Wellness and reactive healthcare; Health and Human Services is the intersection of reactive healthcare and reactive human services. There is no defined industry for the intersection of preventive Wellness and reactive Human Services, as far as I’m aware. Most importantly, each of these spaces is defined and supported by structures of policy, economy, technology, culture, infrastructure, and media. These support structures are what we, at Benes Companies, desire to inform.
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