Central Adelaide LHN has partnered with Osara Health to trial the program.
Central Adelaide Local Health Network is trialling a wellbeing coaching program to help people facing cancer.
Developed by Osara Health, it provides access to a personal professional health coach and a smartphone app, Cancer Coach, which people facing cancer can use to track symptoms.
CALHN’s clinical services operations manager for outpatients within cancer services Natasha Tunney said initiatives like the Cancer Coach program aimed to provide those facing cancer with more “tools in their toolbox”.
“The better informed our patients are the better outcomes they have,” she said.
“The journey for these patients can be isolating at times and overwhelming. The coach program provides them with a support person that is removed from their inner circle. This means they can speak to an objective person and be open about their worries and questions without fear of causing stress to a family member or loved one.”
People diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment at the Royal Adelaide Hospital or The Queen Elizabeth Hospital can be part of the pilot program.
According to the Osara website, participants in the program have already reported a seven-fold increase in their activity levels, 53% reported an improvement in their fatigue, 32% reported an improvement in their pain, and 32% also reported an improvement in their overall quality of life. Employees were 73% more likely to get back to work, if that was one of their goals.
For more information visit Osara Health, or the CALHN website.
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