Health coaching: Empowering patients to improve health outcomes in rural Australia

In 2016 15% of the population were aged over 65, and of these, one third live with a chronic disease (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] 2017). It is also acknowledged that many in this population group hold their health professionals (HP) in high regard, and accept their medical instruction without question (While et al. 2011). The importance of empowering these people to understand their health and wellbeing, and support improved outcomes is identified as one of the critical requirements to reduce mortality and healthcare costs (Harris and Sharma 2018).