Health coaching for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A commentary on a systematic review

Commentary on: Long, H., Howells, K., Peters, S. & Blakemore, A. (2019). Does health coaching improve health-related quality of life and reduce hospital admission in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 24(3), 515–546. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12366 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of mortality worldwide. The symptomatic burden, including breathing difficulties and fatigue, has a profound impact on health-related quality of life and utilisation of health services. The role of health coaching is developing in the health and care system with a focus on improving patient outcomes through personalised goal setting and behaviour change. A systematic review by Long et al. (2019) explored the effectiveness of health coaching for people with COPD on health related, quality of life, mood, physical activity, self-care behaviour and hospital admissions. This commentary critically appraises a systematic review by Long et al. (2019) and considers the findings for COPD care, training and support available for health coaches, coaching psychology for developing research and practice, and the requirements for further research.