Community Health Worker: Healthy Aging through Healthy Lifestyle Coaching

Healthy Aging with Healthy Lifestyle Choices  

Aging is a natural part of life, but healthy aging can significantly improve quality of life. While some factors that influence aging, such as genetics, are beyond our control, many lifestyle choices can have a meaningful impact on long-term health outcomes and are within our control. 

Research shows that small, sustainable lifestyle changes can improve health outcomes later in life. Healthy aging can begin with small changes in daily habits such as getting adequate sleep, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and addressing mental and emotional well-being. By taking care of physical, mental, and cognitive health, individuals can achieve better health outcomes. The impact of these small changes can be significant. For example, the National Institute of Health has shared that not getting enough sleep over time can increase risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

At ConcertoCare, integration of care is prioritized with an emphasis on self-management, which are the choices and actions individuals can take every day to live well.  Core to the interdisciplinary team is our Community Health Workers (CHW), who address unmet social drivers of health and complement medical care by providing personalized health coaching and encouragement to support self-management strategies to promote healthy aging.    

ConcertoCare Model in Action

HM is a 62-year-old woman, who is retired and lives at home alone.  She has chronic kidney disease and major depressive disorder.  She was referred to the ConcertoCare CHW for support navigating financial resources.  Upon reaching the patient, the CHW provided financial management resources and also learned more about her history of resiliency and courage navigating complex medical and social needs.  The CHW tapped into this experience and offered health coaching to support ongoing healthy lifestyle choices, recognizing with a little inspiration and support, Ms. M could achieve a healthier outcome.  

As a starting point, our CHW explored with Ms. M what small changes may support healthy aging. The patient expressed feeling discouraged, frequently tired, and unmotivated. Through conversation with our CHW, Ms. M decided to take the following steps: journaling daily, which evolved into gratitude journaling, adjusting her sleep routine by limiting electronics one hour before bedtime, creating a sleep ritual, and becoming more active.  Ms. M and the CHW established goals to achieve during their work together.  Progress was not always linear, and setbacks occurred along the way, but the ConcertoCare interdisciplinary team supported her and helped her get back on track.  Even when there were unexpected barriers and frustration, Ms. M was committed to making small changes daily.  Over time, she reported she was more active, sleeping better, and had increased attendance at medical appointments. Just as importantly, she demonstrated greater optimism about her future and began exploring the possibility of part-time employment. Her progress highlights how small, consistent changes can lead to meaningful improvements in health and quality of life, illustrating personalized health coaching and encouragement can support healthy aging.