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Telehealth and wellness coaching: mirage or mainstay?

Health and wellness coaching has emerged as a useful strategy for improving health behaviors and health-related quality of life across a range of patient populations and conditions through empowering the patient or client to achieve self-determined goals. However, health and wellness coaching research to date has primarily utilized inperson coaching and the acceptance, feasibility, and utility of coaching via digital mechanisms has remained relatively unexplored. Moreover, patient partners have rarely been engaged in the development or implementation of coaching interventions. The manuscript by Ogourtsova et al. is innovative in its emphasis on patient engagement in the development and implementation of a digital health coaching intervention. As more and more healthcare shifts to digital service delivery, the advantages are clear – providing access to care for those in isolated or rural communities, increasing the choices and flexibility of service delivery, and providing interventions at points where traditional in-person care is burdensome or not feasible. Digital coaching has begun to be tested and has shown to have similar outcomes to face to face coaching. However, processes to best engage patients and clients via digital mechanisms such as synchronous videoconferences or screen sharing, asynchronous recorded videos or messaging, and the use of supplemental digital materials have yet to be explored. Moreover, the involvement of patient partners in the development of coaching interventions has been seldom conducted. In light of the emphasis in health coaching on honoring patient/client autonomy and encouraging self-determination, the lack of involvement from the end users of coaching in the development of the coaching process represents a troubling omission from the health and wellness coaching literature. Determining what really matters to patient partners should not be the domain of researchers alone. In this light, the work by Ogourtsova et al. is a welcome addition and offers a framework for future coaching interventions to reference. As we look forward, the types of coaching services might be best delivered via telehealth, and what populations might benefit the most from using these services remain open questions. As the health and wellness coaching literature evolves, we need to expand our interest beyond efficacy toward feasibility, acceptability, and implementation of telehealth coaching models. Perhaps more importantly, we need to commit to full acceptance and valuing of patient partners through co-creating the next generation of coaching interventions. The future is bright as telehealth coaching moves from mirage to mainstay. We should take full advantage of these new avenues to improve the health and well-being of those we serve.