- Title
- The impact of a telephone-based health coaching intervention on anthropometric and health risk behaviour outcomes for people who have received treatment for a mental health disorder
- Creator
- Regan, Timothy William
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Masters Coursework - Masters of Clinical Psychology (MClinPsych)
- Description
- Previous research consistently demonstrates that people with a mental health disorder experience a disproportionate burden of chronic physical disease when compared to people without a mental health disorder. It has been estimated that people with a mental health disorder are up to 5.5 times more likely to die before the age of 65 than people without a mental health disorder, with life expectancy gaps between those with and without a mental health disorder estimated to be as high as 24 years. Several factors are thought to contribute to the burden of physical disease, including complications from medication and socioeconomic stressors. An increased prevalence of health risk behaviours among people with a mental health disorder that are associated with increased likelihood of chronic disease. Compared to the general population, people with a mental health disorder report significantly greater rates of insufficient nutrition, insufficient physical activity, smoking, and alcohol misuse. Previous research has indicated that attempts to improve the provision of preventive health care in these settings have so far had a limited impact. As such, alternative strategies to improve health risk behaviour among this population are needed. Telephone-based coaching services, such as the Get Health Information and Coaching Service (GHS), have been identified as possible alternatives to deliver preventive care for people with a mental health disorder. However, to date, no evaluation of the GHS has been undertaken for people with a mental health disorder. The aim of this thesis is to determine the impact of the GHS for users who reported previously receiving treatment for a mental health issue. Methods: A pre-post evaluation design was used to determine within and between group differences on anthropometric and health risk behaviour outcomes for people who have previously received treatment for a mental health disorder and people who have not previously received treatment for a mental health disorder. Included data was routinely collected by the GHS as part of their Coaching Program. Data was collected at baseline, midpoint (three month follow-up) and graduation (six month follow-up). Only baseline and graduation data were included in this study. Categorisation as having a mental health disorder has assessed based on a yes/no response to the question “Have you had significant mental health problems that required treatment from a health professional?”. Primary outcomes were anthropometric measures (weight, Body Mass Index [BMI], waist circumference) and health risk behaviour outcomes (nutrition, physical activity). Results: The study sample included 3304 participants who enrolled in the GHS Coaching Program between 1st January 2015 and 30th June 2016. During this period, 43.6% withdrew or were terminated from the coaching program, 44.2% had not yet completed the coaching program (considered ‘active’), and 12.2% had completed the program. Approximately 25% of all participants indicated they had received treatment for a mental health issue in the past. Within the study sample, participants with a mental health disorder (MHD) were heavier at baseline, had a greater waist circumference and reported greater health risk behaviours (nutrition, physical activity). Among coaching program completers, people with a MHD reported improvements in weight, nutrition, and physical activity. People without a MHD reported improvements in weight, waist circumference, nutrition and physical activity. People without a MHD reported greater improvements in weight (and waist circumference) than people with a MHD. Changes in classification of risk for anthropometric outcomes and health behaviours were assessed from baseline to graduation, with no interactions between time and group observed. Implications: This study demonstrates that a large proportion of GHS clients reported previously receiving treatment for a mental health issue. Clients with a Mental Health Disorder (MHD) reported greater anthropometric risks and health behaviour risks at baseline than non-MHD clients. This study demonstrates that the GHS can help to support improvements in weight, nutrition, and physical activity for people with a MHD. Although it is likely that participants would experience some reduction in chronic disease health risk because of the GHS coaching program, the effects of the program were small to moderate at best. The results of this study are somewhat consistent with the few previous studies exploring the impact of telephone-based coaching interventions for people with a mental health disorder. Limitations include a lack specificity regarding how people were categorised as having a mental health disorder, the high levels of dropout among the study sample, and the reliance on self-report data. Future studies involving the GHS should look to improve data collection methods around mental health variables, explore process variables such as number and length of calls, service satisfaction, and examine ways to optimise the service to meet the needs of people with a mental health disorder.
- Subject
- mental health treatment; mental health disorders; telephone-based coaching services; health risk behaviour; preventive health care
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1384935
- Identifier
- uon:32144
- Rights
- Copyright 2018 Timothy William Regan
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 545 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 126 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |