Coaching when needed most –: Messenger Coaching as a concept for bridging the intention-action gap

The challenge: People wanting to change their physical activity (PA) tend to face volitional barriers in everyday life, resulting in the intention-action gap. It is at such moments that coaching is needed most. The solution: When a volitional barrier occurs, a digital coach can be crucial and turn the tide. The digital coach allows for immediate, informative and emotional support.
Coaching through messenger is a fairly new area of research. There are few studies on the use of messengers in advisory teams, lacking the examination of client-professional-communication. Further studies examined the benefits of Messenger Coaching compared to Face-to-Face Coaching. Overall, there is a lack of research evidence. Existing studies are rather weak in terms of theoretical conceptualization of the Messenger Coaching process.
The goal of this project was to develop a theory-driven conceptualization of Messenger Coaching to overcome volitional barriers. The concept bases on Rubicon theory (Heckhausen & Gollwitzer, 1987) and its further development, the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA; Schwarzer et al., 2008). Based on this, Messenger Coaching aims to help people remember and meet their PA goals, follow their PA plans, initiate, and sustain PA. This is accomplished by assessing communication through responsive push and pull messages to improve emotional state, answer questions, remind, or provide background information.
The concept was already tested in a feasibility study in stroke patients. Future work needs to show to what extent and how Messenger Coaching influences self-efficacy, motivation, and behavior. Social support and the coaching relationship are assumed to be moderators.