Health Coaching 2.0: Redefining a Key Lifestyle Medicine Intervention, PrioMed Pilot Program Evaluation

Abstract The world is suffering from a global epidemic of non-communicable diseases. Previous research has suggested that health coaching might be an effective way to help curb the epidemic. However, the ambiguous definition of health coaching hinders its widespread practical implementation. We redefined the coaching process in the universal language of behavior change techniques with evidence of effectiveness, postulating this would make the process more efficient to teach and to apply and lead to results with excellent time efficiency. This pilot study (n = 25) investigated the feasibility of such an approach. Despite the relatively short total time spent (< 4 hours per participant), the surveys conducted at baseline and six months showed significant improvements in customer-reported physical and mental health with implications of clinical significance. These promising results pave the way for a universal definition of the coaching process, signaling a brighter future for the practice that merits further exploration.