Stepping Back and Listening: Staff Experiences of Using a Coaching Approach in an Acute Rehabilitation Ward for Older Adults

Previous research has highlighted that acute care provision can lead to a loss of confidence, control, and independent functioning in older adult patients. In addition, it is recognized that interactions between patients and health care staff are central to the prevention of functional decline in patients. In this study, we aimed to affect the staff–patient relationship by implementing a coaching intervention in an older adult acute care setting. Here, we report on staff experiences of this coaching approach. Data were collected from 16 members of staff via semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: Putting a Label on It, Stepping Back and Listening, Identifying the Opportunities, and Working as Team. Our findings show that a coaching approach can be successful in getting staff to reconsider their interactions with patients and to focus on strategies that foster the independence and autonomy of older adult patients. </jats:p

Recovery coaching in an acute older people rehabilitation ward

Our patient, carer, and staff feedback clearly tells us that elderly patients are frequently disempowered by acute care provision, environments, and attitudes. This debilitates individuals mentally and physically, reducing their independent functioning, and may mean that they require prolonged care or are unfit to return home. We developed the concept of “recovery coaching” to support acute inpatient elderly care rehabilitation. We designed a training intervention to achieve “coaching conversations” between our staff and our patients. Data were collected from 46 participants; 22 in the pre-intervention stage and 24 in the post-intervention stage. For the post-intervention patients, mean scores indicated that there was slightly higher increase in the patient's independence in terms of their Barthel (ADL) scores and that they reported higher feelings of self-efficacy. For this patient group it was also found that more returned home with the same level of care as on their admission, and that fewer patients required residential care placements at discharge. This innovative intervention allowed us to challenge the fundamental basis of “I do it for you” to “I will do it with you”, allowing the patient to become an integral partner in their health care