2. Materials and Methods
The study involved a 6 month coaching intervention in a two-armed, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Cathay General Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan). All relevant ethical safeguards were met in relation to participant protection, and ethical standards were in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Two groups of subjects participated: one with a monthly coaching intervention and the other with usual care only.