Nursing students’ perspectives on the effectiveness and applicability of health coaching

Introduction. Health coaching is an important approach to empowering patients for better self-care. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of nursing students with providing health coaching in terms of its effectiveness and usefulness. Methods. Data were collected from 47 reflection forms completed by 3rd-year nursing students after health coaching practice. Results. Students observed improvements in coachees’ health, behaviour, emotional and psychosocial wellbeing, and organization of daily life. Health coaching was seen as useful, broadly applicable approach with a positive impact on coachees’ proactive role. Discussion. Students considered health coaching as an effective approach to improve quality of care and to reduce healthcare burden. They also recognized the clinical effectiveness of the approach. The findings are consistent with other studies on the effectiveness of health coaching. Conclusions. Integrating of health coaching into nursing curricula have potential to enhance professional development and improve the quality of nursing practice. Further research is needed to evaluate effectiveness of integration health coaching into nursing education.