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May 20, 2026American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Medical assistants show promise delivering COPD health coaching if staffing and space barriers are addressed.

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Why the study?

Comorbid CVD is common in COPD, but Black adults with COPD receive less CVD risk reduction, and literature on medical assistants delivering behavioral interventions in specialty clinics is limited.

Population

18 medical assistants, 20 COPD patients, and 11 physicians in the United States

Design

Qualitative semi-structured interview study using CFIR

Key result

Interviews with 49 stakeholders revealed medical assistants are promising candidates to deliver health coaching for COPD patients, provided staffing and space barriers are addressed.

Authors

CZC M ZhangSYS YoungATA Tharakan

Discussion

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Overview

MA-led counseling may address COPD-specific barriers to CVD prevention in Black adults; leaves open whether this narrows disparities in practice.

Key Points

  • The study aims to investigate the feasibility of training medical assistants (MAs) to act as health coaches for cardiovascular disease risk reduction in Black patients with COPD.
  • Conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 MAs, 20 COPD patients, and 11 physicians in U.S. pulmonary clinics.
  • Used qualitative analysis software for thematic analysis based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).
  • Applied inductive and deductive coding by two independent coders with reconciliation of intercoder reliability.
  • Identified barriers included unfamiliarity with MA roles, staffing variability, and need for specific COPD knowledge.
  • Facilitators included MAs' intrinsic motivation, their ease in connecting with patients, and high enthusiasm for the health coaching program.
  • Key implementation areas include addressing space and staffing concerns and leveraging remote participation opportunities.

Structured PICO

P
Population
18 medical assistants, 20 COPD patients, and 11 physicians (pulmonologists and primary care physicians) in the United States.
I
Intervention
Medical assistant (MA)-delivered health coaching program to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction.
O
Outcome
Feasibility of implementing an MA-delivered health coaching program (assessed via qualitative thematic analysis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research).

Medical assistants in pulmonary clinics show promise as health coaches to deliver behavioral interventions for CVD risk reduction in patients with COPD, provided staffing and space barriers are addressed.

Cite This Study

Zhang et al. (2026) studied COPD (n=49). Medical assistant-delivered health coaching program was evaluated on Feasibility of implementing an MA-delivered health coaching program. Interviews with 49 stakeholders revealed medical assistants are promising candidates to deliver health coaching for COPD patients, provided staffing and space barriers are addressed.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a0d5122f03e14405aa9d75chttps://doi.org/10.1093/ajrccm/aamag162.1075
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