Live Healthy ... Work Well - A Randomized Control Trial Implementing a Life Coaching Model for Diabetes

2011

For almost two decades, diabetes self-management education has sought to move from a traditional compliance-based approach to a more collaborative, patient-centered method known as patient empowerment. Patient empowerment is grounded in self-determination theory and built on the premise that behavior change is more likely to occur when internally motivated (healthy eating is important to me and my family), rather than externally motivated (my doctor told me to go on a diet). The idea behind goal setting in the empowerment approach is to help patients become self-directed and motivated to make changes, rather than trying to convince them to comply with goals set by health care providers.1 The Hawaii Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment project, Live Healthy ? Work Well, examined whether a program of medical assistance and other supports could forestall or prevent the loss of employment and independence due to a potentially disabling and medically determinable condition: diabetes. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the implementation of a standardized, life coaching model as a vehicle for patient empowerment to help people with diabetes set goals; discuss how life coaching impacted treatment group participants? health, perceptions, and diabetes self-care; and present recommendations for future diabetes coaching projects.

Conference presentations and posters presented

Professionals

N/A