Health Coaching for the Underserved

Twelve individuals (four homeless, two formerly homeless, and six low-income) received 12 weeks of free health coaching, an intervention normally undertaken by clients who pay $40 to $200 out of pocket for coaching services. The health coaching relationships were conducted with protocols developed for managing executive health at a Fortune 100 firm. This experimental model was constructed to explore what happens when coaching conversations for change and possibility are delivered to marginalized and underserved communities that typically undergo vastly different interactions with authorities in law, healthcare, and social services. Phase 1 of the project recruited the homeless individuals from street sites throughout San Francisco, California, and a temporary shelter. Phase 2 of the project worked with low-income and formerly homeless individuals who occupied a subsidized housing complex. Of the coaching recipients, three were black, five were Hispanic, three were of mixed race, and one declined to disclose his ethnicity. Half were Spanish speaking; immigrant status was recent for five of the 12. None had ever talked with a health coach before; only three knew how to utilize low-cost public health clinics. This case report illustrates how the motivational power of coaching conversations was a modestly useful methodology in breaking through the social isolation and loneliness of street-dwelling adults with chronic health problems. It also was a useful methodology for developing capacity for accomplishing short-term goals that were self-identified. Additionally, health coaching presented an opportunity for transitioning poverty-level individuals from passive recipients using public health sector services to more empowered actors with first-stage awareness who initiated preventive health actions.