The Aides in Respiration (AIR) Health Coaching Study (2014-2017) was a randomized controlled trial funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute that adapted a health coaching model to the needs of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A collaboration between the UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine, the UCSF Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine Program in the Department Medicine, and 7 community clinics in San Francisco, this study tested a unique model of medical assistant health coaching that supports linkages between primary care and specialty care as well as providing self-management support to patients living with COPD.
Tools to implement health coaching for chronic lung conditions in your practice
- Start a conversation with patients about symptoms awareness and timely action with our "COPD Action Plan"
- View or adapt our "Research Protocol," including how to we identified and recruited patients and measures used
- Download our "Health Coach - Specialist Consultation Form" to learn more about how we used health coaching to facilitate specialist access
- Download our "Health Coach - Specialist Consultation Form" in Spanish
Tools to assess health coaching for chronic lung conditions in your practice
- Work together with your team to assess where your practice is in regards to COPD care
- Use our health coach skills checklist to help practice putting those health coaching skills to use
Download inhaler technique guides
- Metered dose inhalers
- Handihalers
- Diskus inhalers
- Aerospan inhalers
- Ellipta inhalers
- Flexhalers
- Pressair
- Respiclick
- Respimat
- Twisthalers
Read more about health coaching for COPD
Thom DH, Willard-Grace R, Tsao S, Hessler D, Huang B, De Vore D, Chirinos C, Wolf J, Donesky D, Garvey C, Su G. Randomized controlled trial of health coaching for vulnerable patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2018; 15:10. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201806-365OC
Huang B, Willard-Grace R, De Vore D, Wolf J, Chirinos C, Tsao S, Hessler D, Su G, Thom DH. Health coaching to improve self-management and quality of life for low income patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Pulmonary Medicine. 2017;17:90. doi:10.1186/s12890-017-0433-3.
Tsao S, Willard-Grace R, Wolf J, Chirinos C, De Vore D, Huang B, Su G, Thom DH. Implementation and Impact of the Pulmonary Specialist Health Coach Consultation Model to Improve Care for Patients with COPD. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2021 Nov;47(11):739-747. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2021.08.003. Epub 2021 Aug 8. PMID: 34489189.
Willard-Grace R, Masaki S, Joseph R, DeVore D, Huang B, Su G, Thom DH. "She Showed Me How to Help Myself": A Qualitative Study of Health Coaching for Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2021;32(1):449-462. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2021.0034. PMID: 33678707.
Willard-Grace R, Chirinos C, Wolf J, DeVore D, Huang B, Hessler D, Tsao S, Su G, Thom DH. Lay Health Coaching to Increase Appropriate Inhaler Use in COPD: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Fam Med. 2020 Jan;18(1):5-14. doi: 10.1370/afm.2461. PMID: 31937527; PMCID: PMC7227462.
Willard-Grace R, Wolf J, Huang B, Lewis E, Su G. Pilot of Brief Health Coaching Intervention to Improve Adherence to Positive Airway Pressure Therapy. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2020 Nov;46(11):631-639. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2020.08.011. Epub 2020 Aug 29. PMID: 32972868.
