The Brain Health Champion study: Health coaching changes behaviors in patients with cognitive impairment

Abstract Introduction Converging evidence suggests that increasing healthy behaviors may slow or prevent cognitive decline. Methods We piloted a six‐month, randomized, controlled investigation of 40 patients with mild dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or subjective cognitive decline. The intervention consisted of weekly motivational interviewing phone calls and three visits with a “Brain Health Champion” health coach, who guided participants to achieve personalized goals. Changes in behavior were measured using validated questionnaires. Results Compared with the standard‐of‐care control group, Brain Health Champion participants had statistically significant and clinically meaningful increases in physical activity (Cohen's d = 1.37, P < .001), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (Cohen's d = 0.87, P = .016), cognitive/social activity (Cohen's d = 1.09, P = .003), and quality of life (Cohen's d = 1.23, P < .001). The magnitude of behavior change strongly predicted improvement in quality of life. Discussion Our results demonstrate the feasibility and potential efficacy of a health coaching approach in changing health behaviors in cognitively impaired and at‐risk patients.