ORCID
0000-0001-7468-5442
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
First Advisor
Patricia A. Prelock
Second Advisor
Karen C. Westervelt
Abstract
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are known to have lower participation in healthy behaviors and poorer mental and physical health compared to their peers. Disparities and inequities in access to appropriate and informed healthcare services place people with IDD at a heightened risk for poor health and reduced engagement in healthy behaviors. Many of the health disparities observed in this population may be mitigated through increased engagement in healthy behaviors.Integrative health and wellness coaching (IHWC) is a novel intervention aimed at promoting healthy behaviors using motivational interviewing, positive psychology, and social cognitive theory, among other evidence-based approaches. IHWC offers a unique approach by reducing power imbalances in communication and empowering clients to determine their own health goals and the behaviors necessary to achieve them. Although IHWC has been proven effective in reducing chronic diseases and symptoms in other clinical populations, it has not yet been tested in the IDD population. This project will address four key aims to improve the health of adults with IDD: (1) assess the effects of the IHWC intervention on a sample care partner population to explore the needed changes to the intervention to increase its accessibility to IDD participants (2) qualitatively analyze IDD university student health and wellness needs, (3) assess pre-post effects of IHWC on stress and global health measures and (4) identify the training requirements for effective IHWC coaches in this novel intervention. By addressing these research questions, this dissertation will explore the use of IHWC to address the need for health promotion for people with IDD and their care partners.
Language
en
Number of Pages
253 p.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Alyssa Morgan, "Health And Wellness Coaching For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: A Model For Improving Inclusion And Accessibility In The Integrative Health Care Context." (2025). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 2150.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/2150