Patient satisfaction and perceived success with a telephonic health coaching program: the Natural Experiments for Translation in Diabetes (NEXT-D) Study, Northern California, 2011.

introductionHealth coaching can improve lifestyle behaviors known to prevent or manage chronic conditions such as diabetes. However, little is known about the patient experience with telephonic coaching programs in real-world care settings. We examined patient satisfaction, patient's perceived success in achieving program goals, and the patient-level correlates of these outcomes in a voluntary telephonic coaching program at a large integrated health care delivery system in northern California.

methodsKaiser Permanente Northern California patients who participated in a telephonic coaching program in 2011 were sent a cross-sectional survey about their satisfaction with health coaching and perceived success with program goals. We examined associations with patient characteristics.

resultsThe survey response rate was 34%; analyses were based on the 32% who completed the survey. Of those who had completed 2 or more sessions (n = 232 [52%]), most reported being satisfied (70%) or neutral (20%) with the program, and 71% would recommend health coaching. Healthy weight, healthful eating, and physical activity were the most common topics discussed (88%). Adjusting for demographic characteristics, 73% of those who had 2 or more sessions reported that health coaching helped achieve their weight-related goal. Outcomes were positively correlated with patient activation but not consistently correlated with patient demographic characteristics.

conclusionLevels of satisfaction and perceived success with telephonic health coaching provided by a health plan were high and positively correlated with the number of sessions completed and patient activation. Voluntary telephonic health coaching programs should promote retention and assess patients' activation levels.