Coaching through technology: a systematic review into efficacy and effectiveness for the ageing population

Bevilacqua, R., Casaccia, S., Cortellessa, G., Astell, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6822-9472, Lattanzio, F., Corsonello, A., D'Ascoli, P., Paolini, S., Di Rosa, M., Rossi, L. and Maranesi, E. (2020) Coaching through technology: a systematic review into efficacy and effectiveness for the ageing population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (16). 5930. ISSN 1660-4601 doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165930

Abstract/Summary

Background: Despite the evidence on the positive role of self-management, the adoption ofhealth coaching strategies for older people is still limited. To address these gaps, recent efforts havebeen made in the ICT sector in order to develop systems for delivering coaching and overcomingbarriers relating to scarcity of resources. The aim of this review is to examine the efficacy of personalhealth coaching systems for older adults using digital virtual agents.Methods: A systematic reviewof the literature was conducted in December 2019 analyzing manuscripts from four databases overthe last 10 years. Nine papers were included.Results: Despite the low number of studies, there wasevidence that technology-integrated interventions can deliver benefits for health over usual care.However, the review raises important questions about how to maintain benefits and permanence ofbehavior change produced by short-term interventions.Conclusion: These systems offer a potentialtool to reduce costs, minimize therapist burden and training, and expand the range of clients who canbenefit from them. It is desirable that in the future the number of studies will grow, considering otheraspects such as the role of the virtual coaches’ characteristics, social-presence, empathy, usability,and health literacy

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/92352
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Ageing Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	MDPI Publishing
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item