Preventive health coaching: is there room to be more prescriptive?

Objectives: Health coaching is gaining prominence in chronic diseases management, treatment adherence and more recently, in the area of preventive health. In Australia, the Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service (GHS) is a preventive health coaching service with demonstrated outcome effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the process of health coaching. Design: The study (n=61) involved analysis of audio recordings of coaching calls at time points during the six-month coaching program. A coaching call review instrument was developed specifically to assess: goal setting, relationship building, information exchange and education, behavioral modification techniques, emotional management, and GHS content-specific information. Methods: Two reviewers were randomly assigned to review the calls. Descriptive analyses were performed on coaching domain variables and coaching behavior variables as collected by the instrument. Results: The results indicate that the GHS coaches incorporated goal setting, information exchange and education, and relationship building moderately in their coaching interactions. Behavior modification and emotional management were incorporated to a lesser extent. GHS reference material was rarely mentioned and there were significant differences based on when the coaching call occurred; such that realistic weight loss and reference to the GHS materials were more likely to be mentioned in weeks 0-4 (p<0.05; and p<0.001 respectively). Conclusions: There is an opportunity for preventive health coaching to be more prescriptive and directive through maximizing the accountability of goals, referencing evidence-based materials more often, providing more information and education, and managing the coaching process to stimulate action.