Preliminary investigation of the student-delivered Community Outreach teleheAlth program for Covid education and Health promotion (COACH)

• Published in: Family practice Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 30 - 38
• Main Authors: Yang, Michelle C, Clayton, Cam, Harris, Devin, Pelletier, Chelsea, Schmidt, Julia, Zwicker, Jill G, Sakakibara, Brodie M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 09.02.2023
• Subjects: Aged; Chronic Disease; Community-Institutional Relations; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Female; Health Promotion; Health Service Research; Humans; Male; Quality of Life; Students; Telemedicine; health education; telemedicine; health promotion; self-management; activities of daily living; chronic disease
• ISSN: 1460-2229; 0263-2136; 1460-2229
• DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmac079

COVID-19 public health restrictions (i.e. physical distancing) compromise individuals' ability to self-manage their health behaviours and may increase the risks of adverse health events. To evaluate the student-delivered Community Outreach teleheAlth program for Covid education and Health promotion (COACH) on health-directed behaviour (self-management) among older adults (≥65 years of age, n = 75). Secondary objectives estimated the influence of COACH on perceived depression, anxiety, and stress; social support; health-related quality of life; health promotion self-efficacy; and other self-management domains. COACH was developed to provide chronic disease management and prevention support among older adults via telephone or videoconferencing platforms (i.e. Zoom). In this single-group, pre-post study, our primary outcome was measured using the health-directed behaviour subscale of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire. Secondary measures included the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Medical Outcomes Study: Social Support Survey, MOS Short Form-36, and Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices Scale. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyse outcome changes. Mean age of participants was 72.4 years (58.7% female; 80% ≥2 chronic conditions). Health-directed behaviour significantly improved after COACH (P < 0.001, d = 0.45). Improved health promotion self-efficacy (P < 0.001, d = 0.44) and decreased mental health were also observed (P < 0.001, d = -1.69). COACH likely contributed to improved health-directed behaviour and health promotion self-efficacy despite the diminished mental health-related quality of life during COVID-19. Our findings also highlight the benefits of using health professional students for the delivery of virtual health promotion programs. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04492527.