A Rubric to Assess the Design and Intervention Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials in Health and Wellness Coaching

Abstract

Objective To collect health and wellness coaching (HWC) literature related to treatment of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) for systematic assessment using a novel rubric. Data Source Pubmed, CINAHL, and PsychInfo Study Inclusion and Exclusion Given 282 articles retrieved, only randomized and controlled trials meeting a HWC criteria-based definition were included; studies with intervention <4 months or <4 sessions were excluded. Data Extraction Rubric assessment required details of two theoretical frameworks (i.e., study design and HWC intervention design) be extracted from each included paper. Data Synthesis Data were derived from a 28-item rubric querying items such as sampling characteristics, statistical methods, coach characteristics, HWC strategy, and intervention fidelity. Results 29 articles were reviewed. Inter-rater rubric scoring yielded high intraclass correlation (r = .85). Rubric assessment of HWC literature resulted in moderate scores (56.7%), with study design scoring higher than intervention design; within intervention design, T2D studies scored higher than obesity. Conclusions A novel research design rubric is presented and successfully applied to assess HWC research related to treatment of obesity and T2D. Most studies reported beneficial clinical findings; however, rubric results revealed moderate scores for study and intervention design. Implications for future HWC research are discussed.