Is health coaching effective in changing the health status and behaviour of prisoners?\u2014a systematic review protocol

Nadja Almondes,Denise Downie,Ayse B Cinar,Derek Richards,Ruth Freeman

doi:10.1186/s13643-017-0524-5

Nadja Almondes, Denise Downie + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-017-0524-5

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Abstract

BackgroundThis is a protocol for a systematic review of the impact of health coaching on changing the health behaviour of offenders. Prisoners are more likely to suffer from health-related issues when compared to the general population. Health coaching has been shown to influence health outcomes of patients with chronic conditions. This review, therefore, aims to assess the effectiveness of health coaching interventions on the health of adolescent and adult offenders in custodial institutions.MethodsWe plan to conduct a systematic review of the current literature on health coaching interventions delivered in the prison setting. We will include randomised controlled trials and observational studies that compare health coaching to the usual care or other alternative interventions. The ideal interventions will be delivered either by health professionals or peer coaches, and the outcomes extracted in the data collection will be disease-specific, clients’ life and self-management skills, behavioural and psychosocial outcomes. If appropriate, a meta-analysis of the data collected will be carried out on the last stage of the review.DiscussionThis systematic review will identify and gather evidence on the impact of health coaching interventions delivered in the prison setting and can function as a supporting material for health professionals, prison staff, the healthcare system, and public health departments when considering delivering health coaching.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42016053237.

Highlights

This is a protocol for a systematic review of the impact of health coaching on changing the health behaviour of offenders
Prisoners suffer from a variety of health-related issues, which tend to be of higher prevalence when compared to the general population [1]
The Health in prisons—A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health calls for prison health programmes to address health promotion, rather than offering health care [6]

Summary

Methods

Study design A systematic review and, if possible, a meta-analysis will be conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement [10]. The first stage will consist of a title and abstract screening conducted by a solo reviewer; any studies that are not in a prison setting and do not include a health outcome will be excluded at this phase. Extracted information will include population characteristics (number of participants, age range, gender, nationalities and baseline characteristics), study setting, details of the intervention (control conditions, number of sessions delivered, duration and frequency of sessions, delivery format and coach qualifications), methodology (study design and duration, characteristics of the recruitment and completion rates) and outcomes (types of outcomes measure and measurement times). With more evidence on the effectiveness of this approach, it could become an important guide for developing behavioural interventions, in particular, coaching, to address the general health issues and to promote well-being among prisoners This protocol was developed in accordance with the PRISMA-P statement (see Additional file 4).

Discussion

Background