Health professionals need to improve their understanding of the role spirituality plays in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, a new study argues.

The New South Wales study published in the "Health Promotion Journal of Australia" says Indigenous people do not believe health is restricted to a person's physical or mental condition.

Study co-author Vanette McLennan says the study focused on the New South Wales north coast but is relevant across the country.

"It's fair to say that Indigenous people would be affected by many things, not just what's happening for them presently but what's happened in history and also from their experiences and their connections with their ancestors and their spiritual stories and paintings," she said.