Table 1.

Articles included in the review and CASP scores

References & location of study undertaken	Aim	Health areas	Design	Sample	Main outcome variables/ scales used	Primary result	CASP score
[31] Australia	To evaluate the effectiveness of goal focused telephone coaching by practice nurses in improving glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes in Australia.	Chronic illness	Prospective, cluster RCT with GP as the unit of randomisation	59 GP clinics, 437 patients	Mean absolute change in HbA1c level	At 18 months follow-up, the effect on glycaemic control did not differ significantly. The median number of coaching sessions received by the 236 intervention was 3, of which 25 % did not receive any coaching sessions.	16
[32] (related to [33]) UK	To explore experiences about how health coaching motivated behaviour change.	Chronic illness	Qualitative	10 control participants and 20 intervention participants	-	Participants positively enacted behaviour change to become more physically active. Participants took advantage of environmental affordances to pull themselves toward activity targets or relied on being pushed to be more active by the health coach or significant others. Behaviour change was maintained where efforts to be more active were built into the everyday lifeworld of participants.	16
[34] USA	To explore different types of successes experienced by adults with type-2 diabetes participating in a health technology and nurse coaching clinical trial.	Chronic illness	Qualitative	132 cases reviewed	Participants survey results Notes by nurse coaches	(1) change in health behaviours; (2) change in mindset or awareness; (3) change in engagement with healthcare resources; (4) change in physical or emotional health; and (5) change in health indicators.	13
[35] USA	To evaluate a behaviour support intervention for patients with poorly controlled diabetes.	Chronic illness	RCT with repeated measures	201 patients with poorly controlled type2 diabetes mellitus	HbA1c value Participant’s review of intervention material Diabetes Knowledge Test Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure	There was a significant overall reduction in mean haemoglobin A1c value from baseline to 6 months but differences between groups, diabetes knowledge, and selfcare were not significant.	16
[33] UK	To evaluate the effectiveness of telephone health coaching delivered by a nurse to support self-management in a primary care population with mild symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).	Chronic illness	RCT	71 GP clinics, 577 patients with dyspnoea	Quality of life (St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire)	No difference in SGRQ-C total score at 12 months. Compared with patients in the usual care group, at six months follow-up, the intervention group reported greater physical activity, more had received a care plan, rescue packs of antibiotics, and inhaler use technique check.	18
[36] USA	To test the hypothesis that ambulatory arthroscopic surgery patients who receive a nurse-coached telephone intervention will have significantly less symptom distress and better functional health status than a comparable group who receive usual practice.	Post-surgery	RCT	102 participants (52 intervention; 50 usual care)	Symptom distress scale Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-Form health survey general health perceptions Mental health subscales	Intervention participants had significantly less symptom distress at 72 h and 1-week post-surgery and significantly better overall physical and mental health at 1-week post-surgery.	14
[37] USA	To determine if metabolic risk factors can be stabilized or improved with weekly motivational interviewing/coaching and medical follow-up care focused on lifestyle behavioural change in individuals with serious mental illness.	Mental Health	Prospective, longitudinal study	11 participants	Weight waist circumference blood pressure LDLs Triglycerides blood glucose levels Quality of life (Healthy Days Health-related Quality of Life questionnaire)	While some individuals showed improvement, others showed deterioration in the physiological markers for metabolic syndrome. Only a small number completed the 18-week study.	14
[38] Vietnam	To assess the feasibility of conducting a trial of a psychoeducational intervention involving the provision of tailored information and coaching to improve management of a cancer-related symptom cluster and reduce symptom cluster impacts on patient health outcomes in the Vietnamese context and to undertake a preliminary evaluation of the intervention.	Chronic illness	Parallel-group single-blind pilot quasi-experimental trial	102 cancer patients in one hospital	Numerical Analogue Scales for each symptom Brief Fatigue Inventory Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Karnofsky Performance Scale Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale EuroQol-5D-5 L Intervention Rating Profile-15	The intervention group showed a significant reduction in symptom cluster severity, fatigue severity, fatigue interference, sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety.	15
[5] (related to [9]) Finland	To evaluate a cost-effective analysis of a tele-based health coaching intervention among patients with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure.	Chronic illness	RCT	998 participants with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure	Health-Related quality of life Cost data: social and healthcare services	Cost effectiveness of the health coaching was highest in type 2 diabetes group. The probability of health coaching being cost effective was 55 % in the whole study group. Health coaching improved the quality of life for type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease patients with moderate cost.	17
[1] Korea	To examine the effectiveness of a health coaching self-management program for older adults with multimorbidity in nursing homes	Chronic illness	RCT	43 older adults with multimorbidity in nursing homes	Self-management behaviours Self-efficacy Health status Chronic Disease Self-Management Program Questionnaire (42 items) Health goal setting and attainment scales (intervention group only)	Intervention group had better exercise behaviour, cognitive symptom management, mental stress management/relaxation, self-rated health, reduced illness intrusiveness, depression, and social/role activities limitations. Improved oral health and stress reduction.	15
[9] Finland	To evaluate the effect of a 12-month individualized health coaching intervention by telephone on clinical outcomes.	Chronic illness	An open-label cluster-randomized parallel groups trial	1221 participants with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure, and unmet treatment goals	Systolic and diastolic blood pressure serum total and LDL cholesterol concentration waist circumference for all patients, HbA1c	The diastolic blood pressure decreased to 85 mmHg or lower (48 % in the intervention group and 37 % in the control group). No significant differences emerged between two groups in the other primary outcomes. However, the target levels of systolic blood pressure and waist circumference were reached non-significantly more frequently in the intervention group.	16
[39] USA	To evaluate the effectiveness of transitional care coaching intervention offered to clinically ill medical patients during the transition from hospital to home (primary care).	Chronic illness	2 arm randomised pilot study; experimental post-test only	88 participants (60 intervention; 20 control)	Brief literacy measure Morisky Medical Adherence Scale Medication discrepancy tool	At home setting, many participants were unable or unwilling to discuss about goal setting and behaviour change. Those who were not able to participate had multiple distractions.	8
[40] UK	To test the effect of a telephone health coaching service (Birmingham Own Health) during primary nursing care on hospital use and associated costs.	Chronic illness	Retrospective design using person level administrative data and difference-in-difference analysis with matched controls.	2698 patients recruited from local general practices before 2009 with heart failure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Hospital bed days Elective hospital admissions Outpatient attendances Secondary care costs	Emergency admission rates and outpatient attendance rate increased rapidly in intervention group.	17
[41] USA	To test the implementation of nurse-telephone coaching for families of children with asthma.	Chronic illness	RCT	12 families, 175 participants	4 targeted behaviours (Controller medications; asthma action plan; rescue meds; planning visits) Interview with parents	Nurse telephone coaching was successful in promoting improved asthma self-management behaviours in parents of children with asthma.	13
[42] USA	To test the effectiveness of two interventions compared to usual care in decreasing attitudinal barriers to cancer pain management, decreasing pain intensity, and improving functional status and quality of life.	Pain	RCT	318 adults with various type of cancer-related pain	Pain intensity Pain relief Pain interference Attitudinal barriers Functional status Quality of life	Attitudinal barrier scores did not change over time among groups. Patients randomised to the coaching group reported significant improvement in their ratings of pain-related interference with function, general health, vitality, and mental health.	15
[43] USA	To determine the efficacy of the Power Over Pain-Coaching intervention to improve functional status among African American outpatients with cancer pain.	Pain	Two-group randomised design with repeated measures	310 African American cancer patients	Pain Pain-related distress Functional status Perceived control over pain	Functional status improved. Distress also was differentially decreased. Pain intensity ratings decreased. The largest effects were observed in the living with pain component.	16
[44] Australia	To evaluate telephone coaching undertaken by practice nurses in a randomised controlled trial of self-management support for people with type 2 diabetes.	Chronic illness	Grounded theory	14 coaching session by 6 GP employed practice nurses	-	Patient-participants had complex multiple medical conditions to manage while maintaining daily lives. Two approaches to working with this complexity: treat to target; and personalised care.	14

CASP Critical Appraisal Skill Program, GP General Practice, LDL Low-density lipoprotein, RCT Randomised Controlled Trial, UK The United Kingdom, USA The United States of America