Abstract
HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACHES SPECIALIZED IN WEIGHT MANAGEMENT FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY
Arielle J. Levi
Saybrook University
Health and wellness coaching (HWC) is an increasingly helpful complementary service to traditional medical care for treating chronic illnesses, especially obesity and type 2 diabetes (Sforzo et al., 2018). Current HWC research resulted in insurance companies considering HWC for reimbursement (Functional Medicine Coaching Academy, 2021). The coaching profession requires further research that proves HWC’s efficacy on patient outcomes to move the practice to a reimbursable tier. Despite the increasing number of empirical HWC studies, few qualitative studies focus on the qualities, skills, backgrounds, or processes for HW coaches delivering coaching sessions, specifically sessions designed for children and adolescents. Thus, this intrinsic exploratory case study investigated the unique attributes that successful HW coaches for children and adolescents possess and answered the following research question: What are the qualities, skills, processes, training, and background of top-performing health and wellness coaches for children and adolescents?
Following Stake (1995) and Yin (2018), this study sought insight from seven top-performing HW coaches working at Kurbo, a company devoted to evidence-based sustainable behavior change for weight management in children and adolescents. Methods of data collection included semi-structured interviews, surveys, field notes, participant observation, and a participant art exercise. Inductive coding was used to identify themes and deductive coding methods were used to establish a framework for thematic analysis and mapping.
Findings included four primary themes relevant to coach processes, six primary themes related to coach values, nine primary skills and competencies, and 13 positive qualities shared by all participants.
Implications for this study’s findings include filling a gap in the current HWC literature body, improved training standards for coaches working with youth, and better hiring practices for organizations employing coaches. Recommendations for managers include hiring enthusiastic coaches, having prior work experience related to health, modeling healthy lifestyle habits, being knowledgeable in how to mediate parent and child needs and goals, and being tech savvy. Recommendations for the ICF and NBHWC include adding relevant skills and competencies to coaching children. Future research recommendations include further exploration into coach values, specific tools HW coaches use to support weight management, and how best to engage with parents.
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