177) and incorporates evidence-informed behaviour change techniques with a collaborative interaction style. Patient-centred care is a central tenet of best practice in rehabilitation (McPherson and Siegert 2007). A health coaching approach may be useful in neurological rehabilitation because

the collaborative approach, which focuses on the patient’s perspective and emphasises shared decision-making, is an important characteristic of patientcentred care. One version of health coaching is where the health professional uses a 10-point framework underpinned by principles drawn from existing behaviour change theories to support change in health-related behaviour (Health Change Australia 2012). Activity coaching uses this framework but focuses primarily on supporting change selleck screening library in activity habits. The research questions for this study were: 1. Does activity coaching add value to physiotherapy from the perspective of both physiotherapists and patients in neurological rehabilitation? This study used descriptive qualitative methodology. This is an appropriate approach when first-hand knowledge of patients’ or professionals’ experiences with a particular topic is needed (Neergaard et al 2009). Semi-structured interviews with physiotherapists and their patients were used to gain insight into

their perspectives of acceptability and feasibility. Participants were physiotherapist-patient NU7441 pairs recruited from two neurological rehabilitation Thymidine kinase outpatient clinics in a large metropolitan area in New Zealand. Physiotherapists were eligible if they were a registered physiotherapist and currently working in neurological rehabilitation. Patients were included if they had a non-progressive neurological condition, were currently receiving physiotherapy, and had a goal to improve walking. Purposeful sampling was used to achieve variability in patients in a range of key characteristics including age, diagnoses, gender, and ethnicity (Sandelowski 2000). If the physiotherapist wished to participate and had a patient who

met the criteria, the patient was approached to see if they would be interested in participating. A researcher screened both the physiotherapist and their current patient for eligibility by telephone. The activity coaching intervention was delivered as an addition to routine physiotherapy care by a dedicated research physiotherapist (CS or SM), who had completed a two-day course in health coaching (Health Change Australia 2012). Using the principles of health coaching, a modified version of coaching was developed that focused primarily on improving physical activity, particularly walking behaviour. The coaching session was observed by the treating physiotherapist. Each session lasted one hour and there were two follow-up telephone calls. Details and content of the activity coaching intervention is provided in Box 1.