Participant perspectives of a 6-month telephone-based lifestyle coaching program

Abstract

Key points •This research adds to limited qualitative research relating to participant expectations and experiences of a telephonebased lifestyle intervention in a real-world context• Coach support was the most valued aspect of the participants' experience and, despite high attrition rates, participants were primarily positive about their coaching experience• Redesigning the service to increase flexibility in follow-up and using alternative communication methods such as text messaging to arrange follow-up calls could improve participant completion rates AbstractObjectives and importance of study: Low program completion rates can undermine the public health impact of even the most effective program. Participant experiences with lifestyle programs are not well reported, but are important for program improvement and retention. The purpose of this study was to understand participant perceptions of the Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service (GHS), a 6-month telephone-based health coaching program to promote lifestyle change. We were particularly interested in participants' initial expectations, their actual experience, and, for those who did not complete the program, what influenced their withdrawal. Study type:The study included qualitative semistructured interviews and a quantitative sociodemographic survey.Methods: A random sample of GHS participants (n = 59) was recruited to take part in semistructured interviews about their perceptions and experiences of the coaching program. Researchers conducted independent thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Sociodemographic details were obtained from a quantitative survey of all GHS participants. experience. Service structure or individual circumstances, rather than the program itself, were the main reasons for withdrawal. ResultsDiscussion: A positive coaching experience was underpinned by good participant-coach rapport, which facilitated participant adherence and motivation to achieve their goals and complete the program. It is possible that participants who start to achieve their goals are motivated to continue with the program, and that their motivation moves from relying on their coach to being more intrinsically motivated. Reasons for high attrition provide insights into the coaching structure and process, and suggest that ensuring an individualised coaching approach and flexibility with follow-up calls (including alternative communication methods) are changes that could be used to improve practice and retain more participants for the duration of the program.Conclusions: Notwithstanding high attrition rates, participants were mostly positive about their coaching experience. Barriers to participants completing the program could be used to shape service redesign.

Efficacy of Telephone Health Coaching Integration with Standard Multidisciplinary Care for Adults with Obesity Attending a Weight Management Service: A Pilot Study

“…A high level of patient acceptability, however, was reported on the addition of telephonedelivered coaching to MDT care. This is an important finding and consistent with the literature which also found the support and rapport built by the GHS coaches increased participant adherence and motivation [37]. As discussed, service limitations across SOS within Australia prohibit the intensity of follow-up practices recommended in severe obesity [11], therefore the integration of telephone-delivered coaching may present an innovate and sustainable method of suitability supporting patients in conjunction with MDT care.…”

Participant Experiences of an Infant Obesity Prevention Program Delivered via Telephone Calls or Text Messages

“…Participants expressed a need to have choice of delivery modes, for example, telephone calls or text messages or combination of both. Their views are similar to those expressed by participants in other obesity prevention programs that suggest innovative approaches to delivering interventions [35], where text messages were considered as supplementary to telephone coaching calls [12,17,34], or where participants preferred a combination of telephone calls and/or emails with social media or online platforms due to changing needs and to enhance engagement [8][9][10]38].…”

“…In this program, the convenience of receiving stage-based advice and support via telephone calls or text messages and when participants needed them were appreciated by majority of participants. Studies that reported participants' views on delivering adult and infant obesity prevention interventions via telephone calls, text messages or apps generally report high satisfaction rating and have been regarded favorably by participants [9,11,12,16,17,34].…”

“…Goal-setting was appreciated by some participants but most participants commented that they did not have the time to adhere to interventions on self-care through exercise. While constructive goal setting was viewed positively [34], the capacity of physical activity interventions for parent behaviour modification is limited [16].…”

Putting the ‘public’ back in public health research

“…The paper by Passey and Stirling 5 describes a study of the feasibility of an innovative, culturally tailored smoking cessation program for Indigenous women. Other papers report on a range of approaches to engaging communities effectively in the research process, reflecting the views of participants in a lifestyle coaching program (McGill et al 6 ) and older people in a falls prevention program (Tiedemann et al 7 ), and parents' views of a high school vaccination program (Nicholl et al 8 ). Farnbach and colleagues 9 provide a review of values-based research in Australian Indigenous primary health care.…”