North Carolina Healthy Active Living: Describing a Wellness Coaching Program for First-Episode Psychosis Clinics

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Clinical Psychology
• Cardiology

Background:

• Individuals with serious mental illness face a ten-fold higher mortality risk from cardiovascular disease compared to suicide.
• Early psychosis patients exhibit elevated rates of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors.
• The first 12 months post-psychosis onset are critical for implementing interventions to manage these risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of the North Carolina Healthy Active Living (NC HeAL) program.
• To detail the target population, setting, team roles, and program components of NC HeAL.
• To outline the evidence-based measures used to evaluate the program's impact on lifestyle behaviors.

Main Methods:

• The NC HeAL program offers personalized health and wellness coaching within Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) clinics.
• The program targets adolescents and young adults experiencing first-episode psychosis.
• A multidisciplinary team delivers tailored interventions focusing on lifestyle behavior changes.

Main Results:

• Program development, target population, setting, team roles, and components are detailed.
• Evidence-based measures for assessing program outcomes are described.
• Detailed results on feasibility, acceptability, implementation, and fidelity will be reported in subsequent publications.

Conclusions:

• Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) clinics are vital for early psychosis treatment but lack integrated lifestyle support.
• The NC HeAL program addresses this gap by providing personalized health coaching.
• This program aims to improve cardiovascular health and quality of life for young individuals with early psychosis.