Satisfaction with a digitally-enabled telephone health coaching intervention for people with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia

International evidence shows that lifestyle interventions can effectively reduce the risk of developing diabetes in people with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH). A candidate intervention that has potential to be rolled out at population level is health coaching. Digital interventions offer the means to potentially enhance user satisfaction with health coaching and improve efficiencies. We used a randomised controlled trial to test whether a digitally-enabled health coaching intervention that included an onlinedashboard and telephone health coaching improved user satisfaction and cost-efficiencies compared with a telephone only healthcoaching intervention. The primary outcome was satisfaction measured by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). 103participants with NDH were allocated to the telephone coaching only intervention and 106 participants with NDH were allocated tothe digital and telephone coaching intervention. In an intention-to-treat analysis satisfaction was higher in participants allocated tothe digital and telephone coaching intervention than those allocated to the telephone only intervention, but the difference was notsignificant. There were no significant differences between the groups on secondary outcomes (HbA1c, BMI, activation, depression,self-management, health status). From a service commissioning perspective the mean incremental cost of the digitally-enabledintervention was £236 ($332;€270). Call times, including administration, were longer for participants allocated to the digitally-enabled intervention. The results show that user satisfaction with digitally-enabled intervention is broadly equivalent with that oftelephone delivered interventions in the context of routinely delivered diabetes prevention programmes. There is scope for futurework that assesses how economies of scale can be achieved at larger user bases