Chung Edwin K H, Wong Eliza Lai-Yi, Leung Hera Hiu-Wah, Yeung Dannii Y, Yeoh Eng-Kiong, Chen Frank Youhua
Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
Trials. 2024 Dec 18;25(1):817. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08649-x.
A large proportion of older adults suffer from chronic diseases. Health coaching is a promising intervention that enhances individuals' health knowledge and supports changes in health behaviours. Even though health professionals usually conduct health coaching interventions, lay health workers from different backgrounds account for a growing segment of health coaches over the years. The planned study's main objective is to investigate whether health coaching by lay health workers is as effective as that by health professionals.
The effects of health coaching intervention by lay health workers will be examined in comparison with that by health professionals within a single-blind, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial with a follow-up assessment after 3 months. A total of 380 community-dwelling older adults with chronic diseases will be recruited and randomly assigned using a 1:1 ratio into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive a 3-month health coaching intervention delivered by lay health workers, whereas the control group will receive the intervention delivered by health professionals. Primary outcomes include patient activation, physical activity and nutrition behaviours.
The expected findings of this study will advance the health coaching literature, research and practice by determining whether health coaching by lay health workers is as effective as that by health professionals in enhancing older adults' knowledge, skills and confidence in chronic disease self-management and promoting changes in health behaviours. If proven effective, the inclusion of lay health workers in delivering effective self-management interventions should be advocated to reduce the over-reliance on health professionals in the primary healthcare system.
ISRCTN, ISRCTN73836238 . Registered 8 November 2023.
很大一部分老年人患有慢性病。健康指导是一种很有前景的干预措施，可增强个人的健康知识并支持健康行为的改变。尽管通常由卫生专业人员进行健康指导干预，但多年来，来自不同背景的非专业卫生工作者在健康指导人员中所占比例越来越大。本计划研究的主要目的是调查非专业卫生工作者进行的健康指导是否与卫生专业人员进行的健康指导同样有效。
在一项单盲、多中心、随机对照试验中，将对非专业卫生工作者进行的健康指导干预与卫生专业人员进行的健康指导干预的效果进行比较，并在3个月后进行随访评估。总共将招募380名患有慢性病的社区老年人，并以1:1的比例随机分配到干预组和对照组。干预组将接受由非专业卫生工作者提供的为期3个月的健康指导干预，而对照组将接受由卫生专业人员提供的干预。主要结局包括患者自我管理能力、身体活动和营养行为。
本研究的预期结果将通过确定非专业卫生工作者进行的健康指导在增强老年人慢性病自我管理的知识、技能和信心以及促进健康行为改变方面是否与卫生专业人员进行的健康指导同样有效，来推动健康指导方面的文献、研究和实践。如果被证明有效，应提倡纳入非专业卫生工作者来提供有效的自我管理干预措施，以减少初级卫生保健系统中对卫生专业人员的过度依赖。
ISRCTN，ISRCTN73836238。2023年11月8日注册。
