Effectiveness of health literacy programs with "health coaches" and social support to promote exercise behaviors among village health volunteers
Keywords:
health literacy, health coach, body mass index, exercise behavior, social support, waist circumferenceAbstract
Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) play a crucial role in Thailand's public health system. However, many have been found to be overweight and obese, putting them at risk for chronic non-communicable diseases. This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated health literacy program with health coaches on exercise behaviors, body mass index, and waist circumference among Village Health Volunteers. This study employed a quasi-experimental design using a two-group pretest-posttest approach. The sample consisted of 64 overweight Village Health Volunteers, divided into experimental and comparison groups of 32 participants each. The program was implemented over 10 weeks. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and multiple linear regression. Results showed that the experimental group had significantly higher health literacy scores than the comparison group. Exercise behavior in the experimental group increased from 13.93% to 16.93%, while decreasing in the comparison group (Mean difference 4.03; 95% CI: 3.22-4.85; p<0.001). Body mass index in the experimental group decreased from 27.89 to 26.53 kg/m² (mean difference 1.74; 95% CI: 1.04-2.11; p<0.001), and waist circumference decreased from 96.84 to 95.46 cm (mean difference 1.49; 95% CI: 0.72-2.26; p<0.001).
This study concludes that the integrated health literacy program with a health coach system had significant positive effects on elevating health literacy, increasing exercise behavior, and improving physiological indicators. Key success factors included the application of the "Buddy Health Friend" social support system together with the digital innovation "HUG SUKKAPARP" web application.
References
Health Promotion Foundation Office. Obesity situation in Thailand [Internet]. Bangkok: Health Promotion Foundation Office; 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 26]. Available from: https://www.thaihealth.or.th/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Thai-Health-2024.pdf (in Thai)
Thammarangsee T, Plukerd S, Pong-utha S. Why obesity, why obese: situation of factors related to overweight and obesity in Thai population. J Health Sci Thailand 2011;20(1):126–44. (in Thai)
Med Alert Help. 38 shocking obesity statistics & facts for 2021 [Internet]. [place unknown]: Med Alert Help; 2021 [cited 2024 Jul 26]. Available from: https://medalerthelp.org/blog/obesity-statistics/
World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2021 [cited 2023 Nov 27]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/ detail/obesity-and-overweight?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health. Warning: Thai people reduce obesity, reduce severe illness when infected with COVID-19 up to seven times [Internet]. Nonthaburi: Ministry of Public Health; 2021 [cited 2023 Nov 27]. Available from: https://dmh.go.th/news-dmh/view.asp?id=30919&utm_source=chatgpt.com (in Thai)
World Obesity Federation. World obesity atlas [Internet]. London: World Obesity Federation; 2022 [cited 2024 Jul 26]. Available from: https://data.worldobesity.org/ publications/World-Obesity-Atlas-2022-updated.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Ekaphlakhon V. Physical environmental factors affecting physical activity behaviors among the general population. Journal of Education and Health Research 2014;2(3):45-56.
Kaewsri N, Jaikarun S, Limsawasd P. Prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity among public health personnel in the Northeast region. J Health Sci 2023;28(3):506–17. (in Thai)
Udon Thani Provincial Public Health Office. Report on non-communicable disease situation in Udon Thani Province. Udon Thani: Udon Thani Provincial Public Health Office; 2022. (in Thai)
Health and Medical Data Repository System. Abdominal obesity: waist circumference exceeding 90 cm for men and 80 cm for women [Internet]. [place unknown]: Health and Medical Data Repository System; 2023 [cited 2023 Nov 27]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431389/
Department of Health Service Support. Manual for modern village health volunteers. Bangkok: Department of Health Service Support; 2011. (in Thai)
Ku Kaew District Health Office. Health situation report of Ku Kaew District. Udon Thani: Ku Kaew District Health Office; 2023. (in Thai)
Moonsan T, Siriurunrat S, Limtrakul P. Attitudes and barriers to exercise among overweight village health volunteers in Ku Kaew District, Udon Thani Province. J Health Res Dev 2023;25(2):112–27. (in Thai)
Sawetprasathorn P. Effects of a self-regulation program on weight loss behaviors and body weight of overweight female village health volunteers. J Clin Educ Cent Phrapokklao Hosp 2019;36(1):83–93. (in Thai)
Sorensen K, Van den Broucke S, Fullam J, Doyle G, Pelikan J, Slonska Z, et al. Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health 2012;12:80.
Department of Health. Guide lines for promoting physical activity among Thai population. Nonthaburi: Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health; 2016. (in Thai)
Wang L, Fang H, Xia Q, Liu X, Chen Y, Zhou P, et al. Health literacy and exercise-focused interventions on clinical measurements in Chinese diabetes patients: a cluster randomized controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine 2019;17:100211.
Olsen JM, Nesbitt BJ. Health coaching to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors: an integrative review. Am J Health Promot 2010;25(1):e1–12.
House JS. Social support and social structure. Social Forum 1987;2(1):135–46.
Leethong-in S. Family, friends, and community support affecting exercise behavior. J Soc Educ 2014;13(2):78–85. (in Thai)
Swift DL, McGee JE, Earnest CP, Carlisle E, Nygard M, Johannsen NM. The effects of exercise and physical activity on weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2018;61(2):206–13.
Wewege MA, Thom JM, Rye KA, Parmenter BJ. Aerobic, resistance or combined training: a systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults with metabolic syndrome. Atherosclerosis 2022;347:100–8.
World Health Organization. Global diffusion of eHealth: making universal health coverage achievable. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016.
LINE Corporation. Line official account features [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Nov 27]. Available from: https://www.linebiz.com/jp-en/other/
Chiamcharatsarangsri W. Government and organizational policies supporting physical activity. J Health Dev 2017;16(3):102-10.
Jaidee C. Effects of a self-efficacy promotion program combined with social support on knowledge, health behaviors, and weight loss among sports university students at Yala Campus. J Educ Prince Songkla Univ Pattani Campus 2021;34(1):113–26. (in Thai)
Saranyarittichay K. Health literacy: concepts, theories and applications. 2nd ed. Khon Kaen: Khon Kaen Printing; 2021. (in Thai)
Nameung A, Banchorhatthakij P. Effects of a health literacy promotion program combined with online social media in obesity prevention among overweight personnel in Health Region 7, Khon Kaen. KKU J Public Health Res 2020;13(3):78–89. (in Thai)
Sukpool A, Kingmala C, Paengsuk P, Yuenyaw T, Wangman W. Effects of a health literacy development and health behavior program for the working-age population. J Health Sci 2020;29(3):420-9. (in Thai)
Beleigoli A, Andrade AQ, Diniz MDF, Ribeiro AL. Personalized web-based weight loss behavior change program with and without dietitian online coaching for adults with overweight and obesity: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res 2020;22(11):e17494.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Nursing Science and Health
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Journal of Nursing Science and Health is copyright holder of published articles. Distributions of articles published in Journal of Nursing Science and Health including online, photocopying which is not for teaching-learning purpose, publication submission elsewhere are prohibited except obtaining permission from the Journal of Nursing Science and Health.
