Assessing health behavior change and comparing remote, hybrid and in-person implementation of a school-based health promotion and coaching program for adolescents from low-income communities.

This article evaluates the Stanford Youth Diabetes Coaches Program (SYDCP), an 8-week school-based health promotion and coaching skills program aimed at adolescents (ages 14–18) from low-income, underserved US communities, assessing its impact on health knowledge, psychosocial assets (self-esteem, self-efficacy, problem-solving), and health behaviors (nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction). The study compares three modes of program delivery—remote, hybrid, and in-person—across four geographic sites involving 179 participants who completed pre- and postsurveys. Results indicate significant improvements in health knowledge, psychosocial assets, and health behaviors across all delivery modes, with no statistically significant differences in efficacy between remote, hybrid, and in-person implementations after adjusting for baseline scores, grade, and gender. While participant satisfaction was high for remote and in-person modes, the hybrid mode showed lower satisfaction, suggesting potential challenges in engagement when instructors teach remotely to in-person groups. The findings support the feasibility and effectiveness of synchronous remote delivery of health promotion programs for adolescents in diverse, underserved settings.