The Self-Management Health Coach Program is a telephone-based coaching program to support people living with chronic conditions to become better self-managers. Health Coaches connect with participants by telephone, once a week for 30 minutes, for a period of three months. Coaching can be extended for another three months upon a mutual agreement between all parties.
Through this contact, Health Coaches can support participants who would like to:
- Choose goals and actions they want to take to better manage their health
- Identify and problem-solve barriers to being healthier
- Become more self-confident
- Be motivated to initiate and maintain health-behaviour changes
Health Coaches provide a dimension of support that complements and enhances professional health care; they do not provide medical or clinical advice or treatment.
Who can participate?
Participants are adults of all ages who are experiencing difficulty in managing their health. For many people, coping with chronic health conditions can be extremely trying. Fatigue, pain, breathing difficulties, sleeping problems, loss of energy, activity limitation, depression and anxiety about the future are common. They may benefit from having the extra support person in the form of a Health Coach to face the daily challenges of living with chronic conditions.
What does it cost to participate?
The program is FREE to participants, and participants receive the Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions.
What happens in the program?
Health Coaches and participants are paired based on gender, age and/or shared chronic health condition(s). Health Coaches will always be the one to call their participants.
Who are the coaches?
The Health Coaches are trained volunteers from all walks of life who share a passion for giving back to the community. Coaches may have chronic conditions or have loved ones living with chronic conditions, and have a keen interest in working with people living with chronic conditions. They have successfully completed a two-day training on coach skills and self-management strategies.
During the coaching period, Health Coaches will receive regular support from the Program Coordinator and will be invited to attend educational updates on major chronic health conditions.
What participants are saying about the program:
Having a coach monitor your progress helps to maintain the discipline required to "stay the course". While I still indulge occasionally, I have managed to stave off the cravings associated with a change in eating habits and discovered that many go through the same process. I have managed to lose approximately 12 pounds over the last three months - a milestone that helps to reinforce the new habits and make it easier to exercise. As a lawyer I enjoy doing research and the Healthy Life guidebook is most informative. I am still working through the guide but made sure to read the chapters on healthy eating as this is where most help was needed.
How do I get involved?
To receive a coach, please fill out the information for the waitlist. If you are interested in becoming a coach, or would like more information about the program, please email smhcoach@uvic.ca.