Coach2Move highlighted by ZonMw Health care efficiency research program

4 October 2018

On 26 September, ZonMw director Henk Smid handed over the evaluation of the Health care efficiency research program to Bas van den Dungen, Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. One of the projects highlighted in this evaluation was the Coach2Move approach.

Coach2Move has been developed at IQ Healthcare (RIHS) of the Radboudumc in collaboration with health professionals and patients. Coach2Move aims to improve and personalize the care of older, vulnerable adults (70+) with mobility problems, by optimizing the clinical reasoning and shared-decision making process of physiotherapists. An important aspect of Coach2Move is that physiotherapists and patients are stimulated to set inspiring treatment goals; goals which elicit a patient to be physically active. However, in order to set these inspiring goals, it is important to know a person’s real reason to visit the therapist (determine the question behind the question using motivational interviewing), to understand a person’s ability in their own context and, if possible, to involve a person’s own social network. Physiotherapists trained according to this approach achieve better outcomes, while overall healthcare costs decrease (850 euro’s per patient). The magazine of ZonMw highlights the story of Coos Campfens, a 92 year old man who believed he would never sing again in his choir because he needed to climb the spiral staircase of Schiedam’s basilica. Together with Karin Bosma, physiotherapist specialized in geriatrics, they assessed Coos’ stair climbing skills at the basilica. It turned out that with minor feedback and the help of the sacristan, Coos was able to negotiate the stairs, allowing him to rejoin his choir and participate in society.
ZonMw press release:
https://www.zonmw.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws/detail/item/doelmatigheidsonderzoek-leidt-tot-betere-en-betaalbare-zorg
Coach2Move effectiveness study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27239405
Independent assessment of Coach2Move effectiveness by RIVM: 
https://www.loketgezondleven.nl/leefstijlinterventies/interventies-zoeken/1500283

Thomas Hoogeboom and Ria Nijhuis - van der Sanden are members of theme Healthcare improvement science.