The following is a summary of “A randomized trial of a theory-driven model of health coaching for older adults: short-term and sustained outcomes,” published in the October 2023 issue of Primary Care by Potempa, et al.

The Healthy Lifetime program, a theoretically grounded, personalized health coaching initiative delivered electronically, including face-to-face videoconferencing, was developed to address early aging-related functional decline and mitigate the onset/exacerbation of chronic conditions. For a study, researchers sought to assess the effectiveness of a theoretically based, personalized health coaching program in individuals aged 50 and older with one or more chronic conditions, utilizing a randomized, controlled, pragmatic clinical trial design.

Participants were randomly assigned to either the Healthy Lifetime (HL) group (n=59) or a usual care group (n=63). The HL group received health coaching from a trained nurse over eight weeks. Assessments were conducted at baseline, eight weeks, and 20 weeks (following a 12-week no-treatment phase). Regression modeling with fixed-effect repeated measures was utilized to accommodate the longitudinal data.

In the HL group, there was a significant increase in health habits at eight weeks (3.1 units; SE=1.0; P=0.0005; effect size=0.15). This improvement was sustained at 20 weeks (2.4 units, SE=0.2; P=0.0005). Independent self-care agency improved at eight weeks in individuals with high blood pressure (13.5 units; SE=4.37; P=0.0023; effect size=0.3), although this was not maintained at 20 weeks (P=0.47). The usual care group did not significantly improve at eight or 20 weeks.

HL participants exhibited significant enhancements in health habits at eight weeks, sustained at 20 weeks (following a 12-week no-treatment phase) compared to the usual care group. Improving health habits alone has been associated with decreased all-cause morbidity and mortality in chronic disease. The high-functioning, community-dwelling older adult population with chronic diseases represented an important target for primary care practices to intervene early in the aging process to mitigate chronic disease complications and functional decline.

Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-023-02162-x