One month is not nearly enough to spotlight—and educate on—women’s health. Here at YourCoach, we’re committed to highlighting women’s health all year long, while continuously educating ourselves on this ever-evolving issue.
Last month, we hosted a CEU-eligible webinar on the diverse health challenges women from all walks of life encounter. We looked at real-life scenarios and shared practical examples of how health coaches support women’s health issues. This month, we’re excited to roll out our Women’s Health Deep Dive, an extensive look at the multifaceted health issues women face at various stages of their lives. We share statistics on how health challenges might disproportionately affect the female body and offer compelling data on health coaching for women’s health issues.
We’re proud to empower hundreds of coaches on our platform who specialize in women’s health needs—a number that’s only growing by the day. Many of these coaches help us support our Industry Partners in addressing women’s health for their clients and members. This Deep Dive is another effort to facilitate continued education for all stakeholders. Below are some highlights.
Why is Women’s Health so important?
Women’s health is a topic that was for decades neglected by the medical community and has spent decades, since, catching up (the available research only scratches the surface). In the United States, women make up more than half of the population, and face continued challenges that significantly impact their health and access to care.
Some health issues disproportionately affect women. For example, women are almost twice as likely as men to have depression. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among US women and symptoms are often less obvious in women compared to men, which means these acute attacks are often fatal. An alarming study of emergency room visits by adults 55 and under also revealed that women who came in with chest pain waited longer to see a doctor or nurse and were less likely to be admitted for observation than men.
It’s imperative we continue educating on the science behind risks, implications, and background of women’s health issues, which is why it was so important for us to produce this Deep Dive (which will likely be the first of many on this topic).
Where do health coaches fit in?
Health coaches have made a major impact on women’s health to date—which includes everything from improving lifestyle behaviors to supporting women through difficult pregnancies or while they’re trying to get pregnant. Women’s health is incredibly nuanced, which means women benefit highly from health coaches who can support them beyond the doctor’s office.
Our Deep Dive compiles data highlights from recent studies on health coaching and women’s health. These include:
- A 2023 randomized controlled trial which demonstrated decreases in symptoms of depression (-26%) and anxiety (-36%) among women with mild to moderate postpartum depression and/or anxiety after working with a health coach.
- A 2022 randomized controlled study that showed significant improvements in the scores of menopausal symptoms, depression symptoms, and quality of life among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who participated in health coaching intervention compared to control groups.
- A 2022 randomized clinical trial evaluating home-based health coaching for girls who are overweight or experience obesity showed a positive effect of interventions on behavior changes and pediatric weight management.
As with most data related to health coaching, we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. We’re highly encouraged by the growing interest in health coaching and are committed to championing more research in this vein in the near future. This Deep Dive is exemplary of our commitment and the work we do with our Industry Partners further demonstrates the value health coaching provides.