The Pre-Medical Health Coach (PHC) program: pre-medical students as volunteer health coaches at a safety-net hospital in California, 2016-2020.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The volunteer Pre-Medical Health Coach (PHC) program engages student volunteers, in team-based primary care providing self-management support to patients with chronic conditions. Both the PHCs and the patients they serve are diverse. The aims of this study are to assess the impact of the PHC program on student outcomes and patient biomarkers.

Methods

All PHCs were students recruited from local universities, interviewed, then trained in motivational interviewing and evidence-based chronic disease self-management support. The 22 PHCs were diverse - 8 (36.3%) were underrepresented in medicine and 2 (9%) were first generation in college. The study setting was a public safety-net adult medicine outpatient clinic in Oakland, California. PHCs spent 5 h weekly, for 1-3 ye

SUBMITTER: Shak EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11869730 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature