What is the effect of health coaching on physical activity participation in people aged 60 years and over? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials

• Published in: British journal of sports medicine Vol. 51; no. 19; pp. 1425 - 1432
• Main Authors: Oliveira, Juliana S, Sherrington, Catherine, Amorim, Anita B, Dario, Amabile B, Tiedemann, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Affect; Age; Aged; Cardiovascular disease; Chronic illnesses; Clinical trials; Counseling; Diabetes; Exercise; Goal setting; Health promotion; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Intervention; Medical Subject Headings-MeSH; Mentoring; Middle Aged; Older people; Participation; Patients; Physical fitness; Primary care; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Systematic review; Elderly people; Physical activity
• ISSN: 0306-3674; 1473-0480; 1473-0480
• DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096943

BackgroundPhysical inactivity is common in older age, yet increased activity benefits older people in terms of preventing chronic disease and maximising independence. Health coaching is a behaviour change intervention that has been shown to increase physical activity in clinical populations. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effect of health coaching on physical activity, mobility, quality of life and mood in older people.MethodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, PEDro, SPORTDiscus, LILACS and CINAHL databases were used to identify randomised controlled trials which evaluated the effect of health coaching on physical activity (primary outcome) among people aged 60+. Secondary outcomes were mobility, quality of life and mood. We calculated standardised mean differences (SMDs, Hedges’ g) with 95% CIs from random effects meta-analyses.Results27 eligible trials were included. Health coaching had a small, statistically significant effect on physical activity (27 studies; SMD = 0.27; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.37; p<0.001). There was no evidence of an effect of health coaching on mobility (eight studies; SMD = 0.10; 95% CI −0.03 to 0.23; p=0.13), quality of life (eight studies; SMD = 0.07; 95% CI −0.06 to 0.20; p<0.05) or mood (five studies; SMD = 0.02; 95% CI −0.12 to 0.16; p=0.83).ConclusionsHealth coaching significantly increased physical activity in people aged 60+. There was no evidence of an effect of health coaching on quality of life, mobility and mood, so different approaches may be required to impact on these outcomes.