Rite Aid's Health Dialog, Penn State to study health coaching in older adults with fractures

BOSTON — Health Dialog, a health management company and division of Rite Aid, will partner with the Penn State College of Medicine in a three-year study that will examine the role that health coaches play in preventing fractures among older adults who wish to exercise.

“A health coach can be an invaluable resource to older adults beginning an exercise program following a fracture,” said Chris Sciamanna, Project Director of Band Together and Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences and Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Penn State College of Medicine.

The study, called Band Together, will enroll 2,000 adults 65 years and older who have suffered a fall-related fracture and want to resume exercise. Penn State received a $14 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to conduct Band Together, which is the largest of its kind.

The study seeks to confirm the findings of smaller studies that indicate that heal coach-assisted exercise reduces the risk of fracture in older adults by two-thirds.

One-on-one support from health coaches can give older patients confidence, according to Sciamanna.

“While older adults may understand the benefit of exercise, many have never done strength training,” he said. “They may have a fear of falling or experiencing another injury.”

Health Dialog will train the health coaches participating in the study.

Researchers hope the findings will urge Medicare and private insurance to cover health coach-assisted exercise for this demographic, according to a press release.