Financial Coaching for Family Health and Development

Overseen By Chris Laybourn

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles

Disqualifiers: Cognitive impairment, Non-English/Spanish speakers

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests whether financial coaching can enhance the well-being of parents and the development of young children in families receiving pediatric care. It examines how financial advice and support might address health and social needs. The trial includes two groups: one receives financial coaching, while the other receives assistance in finding community resources. Families with children 4 months old or younger who receive care at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center may qualify for this study. Participants must speak English or Spanish and not have cognitive impairments. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to understanding the benefits of financial coaching for families.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that financial coaching is safe for families?

Research shows that financial coaching is safe and easy to manage. Studies have found that this type of coaching can boost financial knowledge and confidence. It can also help lower stress and reduce debt, common issues for many families.

No reports of negative effects from financial coaching have emerged, indicating its safety for participants. Many people find it helpful for improving their financial situation.

For those considering joining a trial that includes financial coaching, the research provides reassuring evidence of its safety. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores the impact of financial coaching combined with social needs screening on family health and development. Unlike traditional approaches that primarily focus on medical interventions, this trial examines how addressing financial and social determinants of health might improve well-being. The unique aspect here is the integration of financial coaching during well-child visits, which aims to empower families with tools to address financial challenges that can affect health outcomes. By focusing on the root social and economic factors, this approach could offer a more holistic path to improving family health and development.

What evidence suggests that financial coaching could be effective for improving family health and development?

This trial will compare two approaches: one group will receive financial coaching plus social needs screening, while the other group will receive only social needs screening and referral. Studies have shown that financial coaching positively affects family life. Research indicates that this type of coaching can reduce school absences and improve healthcare utilization by teaching better money management skills. Other findings suggest that financial coaching lowers the risk of financial scams, especially for vulnerable families. Evidence also shows that financial coaching helps individuals reach personal financial goals, making it a promising method to enhance overall well-being. These benefits suggest that financial coaching might improve health and quality of life for parents and support child development. ^{1 2 6 7 8}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for parents or caregivers with children aged 4 months or younger who are patients at the Harbor-UCLA medical center clinic. Participants must be able to speak English or Spanish and should not have cognitive impairments.

Inclusion Criteria

I am a parent/caregiver of a child 4 months old or younger receiving care at Harbor-UCLA.

Exclusion Criteria

You have difficulty thinking or communicating in English or Spanish.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Families receive financial coaching at each well child visit, along with social needs screening and referral

2 years

Regular well child visits

Control

Families receive social needs screening and referral to community resources

2 years

Regular well child visits

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in social needs, health-related quality of life, and developmental risk

Up to 5 years

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Financial coaching and services

Trial Overview

The study is testing whether financial coaching provided in a clinic can improve the quality of life for parents, aid child development, and address family social needs within Los Angeles County's safety net healthcare system.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Intervention - Financial Coaching Plus Social Needs Screening Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Families in this intervention arm will receive financial coaching at each well child visit, in addition to clinic-based social needs screening and referral.

Group II: Control - Social Needs Screening and Referral Active Control 1 Intervention

Families in this active control arm will receive social needs screening and referral to community resources to address identified social needs.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, Los Angeles

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,594

Recruited

10,430,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

To secure funding and support for clinical programs, it's crucial to clearly demonstrate their effectiveness in improving financial and clinical outcomes, as well as patient satisfaction.

Experts suggest presenting a comprehensive overview of cost-containment successes and using visual data displays to effectively communicate clinical effectiveness to stakeholders and physicians.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

How can you show your CM efforts' effectiveness? [2004]

The combination of a clinical model and financial incentives in nursing facilities led to a 4.1 percentage point reduction in the risk of all-cause transfers among residents, indicating improved care management.

Certain resident characteristics, such as being aged 95 or older and having advanced cognitive impairment, were associated with a lower risk of potentially avoidable hospitalizations, highlighting the importance of tailored care approaches.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Facility and resident characteristics associated with variation in nursing home transfers: evidence from the OPTIMISTIC demonstration project. Blackburn, J., Balio, CP., Carnahan, JL., et al.[2021]

Group health and wellness coaching is emerging as a cost-effective method to enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes, allowing access to more clients compared to traditional one-on-one coaching.

Various group coaching initiatives across the U.S. utilize both telephonic and in-person formats, facilitated by trained professionals, highlighting the potential benefits of group support while also identifying challenges that need to be addressed for effective implementation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Group health coaching: strengths, challenges, and next steps. Armstrong, C., Wolever, RQ., Manning, L., et al.[2021]

Financial stress significantly contributes to health disparities, leading individuals to adopt unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise.

Financial education and coaching may help alleviate financial stress, potentially improving healthy lifestyle choices and overall health outcomes, as suggested by preliminary data from a randomized controlled trial.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Financial Education and Coaching: A Lifestyle Medicine Approach to Addressing Financial Stress. White, ND., Packard, K., Kalkowski, J.[2023]

Financial counselling and income-maximisation services can potentially improve family finances, with studies showing average annual gains of £1661 and £1919 for families referred to these services in Scotland and the UK, respectively.

While some studies indicated small to moderate benefits in child health and well-being, the overall evidence is limited and biased, highlighting the need for more rigorous randomized controlled trials to better assess the effectiveness of these healthcare-income maximisation models.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Connecting Healthcare with Income Maximisation Services: A Systematic Review on the Health, Wellbeing and Financial Impacts for Families with Young Children. Burley, J., Samir, N., Price, A., et al.[2022]

Family Coaching is an innovative approach to delivering evidence-based prevention programs (EBPPs) that focuses on integrating multiple risk factors and behavior changes, making it a versatile option for families.

This method leverages trained community members to provide goal-oriented support, helping families set personalized goals and develop problem-solving skills, which can enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of health promotion interventions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Family Coaching as a delivery modality for evidence-based prevention programs. Rotheram-Borus, MJ., Swendeman, D., Rotheram-Fuller, E., et al.[2019]

The Financial Counseling Service offers crucial financial relief and resources to patients and families during crises, highlighting its role in supporting those in need.

This service exemplifies effective collaboration between government and private organizations to enhance patient care, especially in times of limited resources.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Financial counseling service (outstationed eligibility). Wegner, BA.[2000]

This study introduces financial health as a crucial social determinant of health, emphasizing its importance in managing daily living expenses and overall well-being, particularly among low-income caregivers of young children.

Strong associations were found between financial health and both physical and mental health outcomes, suggesting that improving financial health could lead to better health results in vulnerable populations.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Financial health as a measurable social determinant of health. Weida, EB., Phojanakong, P., Patel, F., et al.[2020]

Patient coaching is an effective process that helps individuals achieve their health goals, whether for preventive measures or chronic treatment.

By creating a supportive environment for open communication, coaching can lead to quicker and more efficient improvements in health outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Coaching and diabetes]. Roca, JM.[2011]

This systematic review aims to evaluate the extent and quality of research on Money-Focused Programs (MFP) that integrate financial services within healthcare settings.

The review will assess both the financial outcomes and health-related outcomes of these embedded financial services, providing insights into their overall effectiveness.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

PROTOCOL: Medical-financial partnerships for improving financial and health outcomes for lower-income Americans: A systematic review. Birkenmaier, J., Maynard, B., Shanks, H., et al.[2023]

Citations

1.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10815544/

Effect of a Financial Education and Coaching Program for ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a year-long financial education and coaching program on school absenteeism and health care utilization ...

2.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11632200/

PROTOCOL: Financial coaching for enhancing household ...

Individual study results suggest that financial coaching may impact vulnerability to financial exploitation (Hall & Lichtenberg, 2022, 2024; ...

3.

files.consumerfinance.gov

files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_financial-coaching-initiative-lessons-learned_report_2021-05.pdf

Financial Coaching Initiative: Results and Lessons Learned

Financial coaching is a promising strategy to help consumers work toward their personal financial goals. Financial coaches combine money management expertise ...

4.

aeaweb.org

aeaweb.org/conference/2019/preliminary/paper/6AdkShyi

Assessing the Effectiveness of Financial Coaching

In this paper, we estimate the causal effects of a one-year financial coaching program for young adults, the Boston Youth Credit Building Initiative (BYCBI), on ...

5.

scholarworks.merrimack.edu

scholarworks.merrimack.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=fin_facpub

Financial coaching effectiveness in a low-income community

This paper summarizes qualitative data from a field experiment exploring a coaching intervention in a low-income, minority community.

6.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11621975/

Medical‐financial partnerships for improving financial and ...

Demonstrated outcomes of financial coaching include increased financial knowledge and confidence, reduced stress and debt, and improvements in ...

7.

assetfunders.org

assetfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/AFN-Measuring-Financial-Coaching-Outcomes.pdf

Measuring Financial Coaching Outcomes

By focusing on behavioral changes, financial coaching is developing a track record for helping people improve their financial well-being.

8.

urban.org

urban.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/2000448-an-evaluation-of-the-impacts-and-implementation-approaches-of-financial-coaching-programs.pdf

An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation ...

Using an experimental design, this study allows, for the first time, a fully causal assessment of the impact of financial coaching, as practiced.