Feasibility and Acceptability of Health Coaching as an Upstream Suicide Prevention Approach: A Pilot Study Among Post-9/11 Veterans

Abstract

This pilot study sought to examine the feasibility and acceptability of Whole Health Coaching (WHC) among post-9/11 era veterans with indicators of suicide risk. Participants were 28 post-9/11 veterans with 1 or more diagnoses associated with suicide risk (depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, pain, sleep disorders, or substance use disorders) recruited from primary care clinics. WHC is a patient-centered approach that facilitates goal-setting, articulation of action steps, and goal achievement. Participants received 8 weekly coaching sessions and completed questionnaires at baseline and Weeks 4, 8, and 16. Feasibility and acceptability outcomes were study enrollment and intervention completion rates, a measure of participant satisfaction, and intervention fidelity. Psychological well-being was the primary health outcome. Qualitative interviews with participants provided additional information about feasibility, acceptability, and health outcomes. Twenty-eight (48%) of the 58 eligible patients reached by phone enrolled. Seventy-five percent (n = 21) completed the intervention (≥ 5 sessions). Mean satisfaction with the intervention was 28.2 (32 possible total). Qualitative analyses further supported the acceptability of WHC. Postintervention (Week 8), participants reported nonsignificant improvements in psychological well-being (p = .88; d = 0.04). These findings suggest WHC is an acceptable and feasible modality among veterans with suicide risk indicators.

Keywords:

• Suicide
• veterans
• well-being
• health promotion
• resilience

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command Military Operational Medicine Research Program (Project W81XWH-16-1-0630). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or United States government.