Developing effective health coaches: Experience gained in a clinical trial of a health coach intervention.
Caitlin Clason, Kimberly Sterner-Stein, Karen B Hirschman and 2 others
PMID 36516655WHAT IT FOUND
Eleven health coaches and support staff described what makes coaching work.
They valued active listening, empathy, and flexible scheduling over innate traits. Training, social worker support, and peer role-play were seen as essential for developing these skills.
Key findings
01Participants identified active listening, empathy, and trustworthiness as the most critical characteristics for health coach success.
02Professional skills like active listening and adaptability were viewed as trainable through intensive orientation, peer role-play, and social worker support, rather than innate.
03Program characteristics, specifically flexible scheduling and clear boundaries, were described as vital for building rapport with caregivers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (11 participants) and drawn from a single program, limiting generalizability. The study focused on staff perceptions; care recipients (caregivers) were not interviewed. Participants were highly educated and predominantly female and Caucasian, which may skew perspectives on what constitutes effective coaching.
Declared interests
The authors declare no known competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that health coaching improves patient outcomes. This study describes staff perceptions of what makes a coach effective, not the clinical efficacy of the coaching intervention itself.