RARE Framework: The Exposome
‘Holistic care’ is increasingly an ideal for various forms of therapy and coaching. However, models developed for this purpose still fell short of living up to the holistic concept. The exposome presents us with a concept that lives up to the ideal of being truly holistic.
WHAT IS THE EXPOSOME?
While the genome is the complete map of DNA, the exposome represents all human exposures. Essentially, everything that isn’t the genome. This is an important addition, especially as we learn how few diseases are actually directly caused by genetic variations and are instead related to our exposures – all the stuff covered in the exposome. Also, what we’re exposed to can alter our genes through epigenetics, further highlighting the importance of a new challenge, which is mapping the exposome.
...the exposome for mental health – a framework to achieve truly holistic care.
A while back I explored the origins of the exposome, along with it’s current focus mainly on physical health and biomarkers. This is where we talked about expanding the exposome for mental health – a framework to achieve truly holistic care.
THE RARE FRAMEWORK
Over the last few years we’ve been working on exactly this, culminating in the development of the Relational Adaptive Resilience Exposome (RARE) framework. The goal of RARE is in line with the exposome in general – to understand more accurately the contributors and protectors against disease, here with a particular focus on mental health.
RARE as a more comprehensive data framework leads to some interesting outcomes, particularly as we advance our machine learning prediction algorithms:
Assessment efficiency – We are already seeing the value of mapping together previously disconnected psychometric assessments. For example, using our machine learning algorithms, the PR6 assessment is showing predictive power in personality trait prediction and mental health risk. This could lead much more efficient assessments that make it far easier and faster to decide where to focus attention
Long-term prediction – Longitudinal assessments combined with these algorithms can then highlight individual mental health risks much earlier, enabling timely and accurate preventative intervention
Uncovering unexpected connections – What if there are factors that lead to loneliness, depression, PTSD, and so on that we never found simply because the data was never connected before? What if there are flow-on effects that we’ve never really noticed? RARE can help identify these and speed up the advancement of mental health research
The advances we can achieve with this framework are massive. Through this we can make a tangible impact on mental health at a global scale. And if there was ever a time that it is needed, it is now.
For the full article please visit - RARE Framework: The Exposome
