Key Takeaways

  • Connect older adults with a personal health and wellness coach to improve physical, emotional, and social well-being.

  • Enhance®Wellness uses motivational interviewing techniques and validated assessment tools to guide health action plan creation and accountability.

Enhance®Wellness (EW) is an evidence-based program that connects participants with a personal health and wellness coach to improve physical, emotional, and social well-being. Based on the Chronic Care Model, EW’s participant-centered approach uses motivational interviewing techniques and validated assessment tools in fourteen domains to guide health action plan creation and accountability. Using problem-solving strategies, participants clarify goals, responsibilities, and activities as they work toward health-related behavioral change. This program works well as a hub to refer to other health promotion interventions and community resources.

Additional topics include alcohol use, exercise, fatigue, health self-management, quality of life, sleep, smoking, caregiver support, and social activity.

  • Target audience: Adults aging with disability, and older adults with one or more chronic conditions, excluding dementia.
  • Health outcomes:
    • Decrease in Inpatient Hospital Days: The number of hospitalized participants increased by 69% among the control group and decreased by 38% in the intervention group.
    • Decrease in Psychoactive Drug Use: The original randomized control trial results showed a 35 percent decrease in psychoactive drug use.
    • Decrease in Inactivity and Restricted Activity Days: Fewer participants were physically inactive (15.8% vs 38.6% in control group) and fewer experienced restricted activity days (35% vs 48% in control group).
    • Decrease in Depression and Nutritional Risk: Fewer participants were depressed (8.8% vs 15.9% in control group) or at high nutritional risk (24.3% vs 44.1% in control group).
  • Delivered by: 1 coach, trained care consultant, nurse, registered dietitian, social worker/mental health therapist, community health worker
  • Program type: Individual
  • Format: In-person at home, in-person in community, telephone, remote (video conference)
  • Length: 6 months (6-10 sessions) 
  • Training: Remote
  • Professional required: The traditional model is delivered by a social worker or registered nurse. Updated 2017 material supports delivery by a Community Health Worker with a background in motivational interviewing.
  • Accessibility adaptations available: Counselor Manual Supplement Available: Providing EnhanceWellness to Adults with Long-Term Disability
  • Cultural adaptations available: Yes
  • Available in languages other than English: Training available in Spanish; intervention can be administered by bi-lingual EW Coach in any language 
  • Data collection: Wellware is a charting tool that supports program service process and analytics for health action plan metrics selected
  • Topic(s):
    • Physical Activity
    • Substance Use
    • Behavioral Health
    • Cancer Survivors
    • Care Transitions
    • Chronic Disease
    • Diet & Nutrition
    • Falls Prevention
    • Medication Management
    • Pain Management
    • Depression
    • Anxiety
    • Fatigue
    • Nutrition
    • Quality of Life
    • Smoking, Sleep
    • Social Activity & Connectedness
  • Additional Resources:
  • Contact: projectenhance@soundgenerations.org

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