Preventing Tipping Points in High-Comorbidity Patients: A Lifeline from Health Coaches

The “Tipping Points” project studies how health coaches may affect the health and wellness of patients with multiple chronic diseases. The new health coaching program will augment regular medical care, including positive affect interventions designed to help patients set their own life goals.

This pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial (RCT) will evaluate the
comparative effectiveness of two approached to preventing destabilization
(“tipping points”) that lead to unplanned hospitalization and increased disability.
The RCT will compare outcomes of patients randomized to either a:

1. Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) as implemented by FQHCs
   (Usual Care); or
2. FQHC PCMH plus a Community Health Worker/Health Coach
   (CHW/HC) delivered intervention that employs a positive affect/self-affirmation to motivate patients to set life goals (Experimental).

Co-Principal Investigators

Jonathan Tobin, PhD, Clinical Directors Network (CDN)
Mary Charlson, MD, Weill-Cornell Medicine
Nivedita Mohanty, MD, AllianceChicago

Funding

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

Health Centers

Erie Family Health Centers, Friend Family Health Center

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