(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, April 9 (Korea Bizwire) – The combination of offline health coaching with smartphone-based online coaching helps improve the self-management of individuals suffering from chronic diseases, a recent study showed.
A research team from the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday that it had tested the effectiveness of the offline health coaching and digital coaching with 54 patients suffering from chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, chronic respiratory disease and arthritis.
The research team randomly divided the participants into three groups. For the first group, both the 12 week-long offline health coaching and the ICT-based digital coaching were provided at the same time.
The second group only received digital coaching, while the third group as a control group was given only an educational self-management book.
After analyzing the three groups’ self-management scores, the research team found that the first group recorded an improvement of 18.5 points in a self-management strategy evaluation three months later.
In contrast, the third group saw its score fall by 2.6 points.
Another notable difference was found in the level of physical activity.
In the first group, the share of participants who maintained the quantity of exercise above the standard level shot up from 85.7 percent to 100 percent three weeks later, while the third group saw this ratio fall from 71.4 percent to 66 percent during the same period.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
