Health Coaching

Weekly personalised phone sessions were described as the critical motivating factor for sustained engagement. Families overwhelmingly reported positive experiences with their assigned health coaches. Health coaching increased awareness of sitting behaviour, with some participants monitoring time more consciously and using elapsed time as a cue to stand or exercise. Training is considered essential for addressing knowledge gaps in continence management and infection prevention. Nurse-led removal protocols can improve advocacy for appropriate catheter use and timely removal, although nurses sometimes still wait for physician orders. Participants attended 113 of 140 available health coaching sessions, an 81% attendance rate. Families received weekly 30-minute phone coaching sessions with a dietitian, nutritionist, or exercise physiologist. Many families had prior negative experiences with paediatric healthcare professionals who provided generic and non-individualised advice. The value of health coaching sessions was linked mainly to social support: having someone to talk with, receive encouragement from, and set goals with. High workload and staff shortages drive catheter use as a co…