PE Terry et al. A Comparison of the Effectiveness of a Telephone Coaching Program and a Mail-Based Program. Health Education & Behavior, October 27, 2010.

Many health promotion interventions have been developed and tested in recent years. Practitioners and researchers must continue to explore how various program delivery modalities can be used effectively and efficiently to optimize program outcomes. Terry and associates explored this topic. A sample of 6,055 participants was drawn from 10 large employers. Participants self-selected into a mail or telephone intervention. This study compared the demographics of those who selected each modality and assessed differences in program success relative to the modalities chosen. Telephone participants were more likely to be older, female, and salaried. Telephone participants were also more ready, confident, and motivated to make a behavior change, when compared to those in the mail program. Researchers found both the telephone and mail programs to be effective in reducing participants' health risk status, though the telephone program was slightly more effective.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: These findings demonstrate the importance of offering a variety of interventions when promoting healthy changes. More research is needed to investigate the role of participant choice and the combinations of learning experiences that best facilitate sustainable behavior change.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE CONSUMER: If you have a choice, you are likely to prefer going with a telephone over a mail intervention.