title: The effectiveness of wellness coaching for improving quality of life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To learn more about the potential psychosocial benefits of wellness coaching. Although wellness coaching is increasing in popularity, there are few published outcome studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a single-cohort study design, 100 employees who completed the 12-week wellness coaching program were of a mean age of 42 years, 90% were women, and most were overweight or obese. Three areas of psychosocial functioning were assessed: quality of life (QOL; 5 domains and overall), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and perceived stress level (Perceived Stress Scale-10). Participants were recruited from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011; data were collected up to July 31, 2012, and were analyzed from August 1, 2012, through October 31, 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These 100 wellness coaching completers exhibited significant improvements in all 5 domains of QOL and overall QOL (P<.0001), reduced their level of depressive symptoms (P<.0001), and reduced their perceived stress level (P<.001) after 12 weeks of in-person wellness coaching, and they maintained these improvements at the 24-week follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this single-arm cohort study (level 2b evidence), participating in wellness coaching was associated with improvement in 3 key areas of psychosocial functioning: QOL, mood, and perceived stress level. The results from this single prospective cohort study suggest that these areas of functioning improve after participating in wellness coaching; however, randomized clinical trials involving large samples of diverse individuals are needed to establish level 1 evidence for wellness coaching.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Electronic address: clark.matthew@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Karleah L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Mettler
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Brent G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Heather R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Juliette T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Liesinger
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Brooke L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Werneburg
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Philip T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.affiliation: Survey Research Center, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.affiliation: Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Kerry D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
authors.forename: Kristin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Vickers Douglas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult