Developing effective health coaches: Experience gained in a clinical trial of a health coach intervention

• Published in: Patient education and counseling 2023-03, Vol.108, p.107592-107592, Article 107592
• Main Authors: Clason, Caitlin, Sterner-Stein, Kimberly, Hirschman, Karen B., Barg, Frances K., Riegel, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Caregivers; Clinical Trials as Topic; Counseling; Female; Health coaching; Humans; Male; Mentoring; Middle Aged; Peer Group; Qualitative research; Staff Development; Thematic analysis
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.107592

To identify the characteristics of an effective health coach and describe how these characteristics can be developed. A qualitative descriptive design was used to obtain insights from a convenience, homogenous sample of health coaches, social workers, and research staff members collaborating as members of a team providing a health coaching telehealth intervention for lay caregivers. Individual interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The 11 study participants interviewed were predominately married (75 %), female (92 %) and Caucasian (83 %). Ages ranged from 27 to 66 with an average age of 42 years. The sample was highly educated, with five having attained a terminal degree (PhD or DNP). The participants described three themes of characteristics that contributed to the success of health coaches: personal characteristics, professional characteristics, and program characteristics. These characteristics expand what is known about attributes that contribute to successful health coaching. Most can be trained or used in developing programs and interventions. Our findings suggest that many of the core skills of an effective health coach can be developed through individual training, program design, and peer support. Innate personal characteristics such as trustworthiness, integrity, and compassion are hard to influence but can be identified in the hiring process. •Professional characteristics such as active listening, rapport building, and adaptability can be trained.•Personal characteristics such as trustworthiness, integrity, compassion, and empathy can be identified in the hiring process.•Program characteristics such as training are essential supports that cannot be bypassed.