Assessing home economists’ spiritual health and wellbeing: A case for further study

The spiritual health dimension is a generally accepted feature of holistic or whole person health and wellbeing in Home Economics arenas. An unexamined area is the spiritual health and wellbeing of Home Economics professionals themselves. This small-scale pilot study assessed the four domains of spiritual health and wellbeing (personal, communal, environmental, transcendental) of sixty-six Home Economists from cross-cultural backgrounds via an anonymous online survey. Analysis revealed that Home Economists identified most with communal aspects of spiritual health and wellbeing including a love of other people, service to others, the importance of family and friendships, and respect for others. As an aspect of Home Economics, spiritual health and wellbeing was acknowledged as important to these Home Economists. There is potential for rich applications in Home Economics; however, very little professional development is focused on this area. This paper argues the case for deeper investigations of spiritual health and wellbeing and the creation of professional development materials.