The Bristol Online Obesity Screening Tool: experience of using a screening tool for assessing obese children in...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• General Practice

Background:

• Childhood obesity incidence is increasing in the UK, posing significant physical, psychological, and financial health service challenges.
• General practitioners (GPs) are crucial for identifying and referring children with obesity, but lack standardized assessment tools.
• Formal assessment is necessary to rule out underlying aetiologies, co-morbidities, or complications in pediatric obesity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and explain a novel screening tool developed for GPs to assess childhood obesity in primary care.
• To evaluate the transferability of a childhood obesity clinic's functions into a primary care setting.
• To assess the evidence base, appropriateness, and safety of the developed screening tool.

Main Methods:

• Development of a screening tool for GP use in assessing childhood obesity.
• Trial conducted in Bristol to assess the tool's transferability to primary care.
• Review of the evidence base for the tool's guidelines and analysis of 152 referrals made using the tool.

Main Results:

• The developed screening tool is believed to enable over 85% of obese children to initiate weight management in primary care.
• The assessment of 152 referrals indicated appropriateness and safety when using the tool.
• The tool was developed as part of a trial to assess the transferability of a childhood obesity clinic into primary care.

Conclusions:

• The novel screening tool shows promise for enhancing primary care's role in managing childhood obesity.
• Further multi-regional evaluation is required to confirm the tool's effectiveness, sensitivity, and specificity.
• Implementation of this tool could improve early identification and management of pediatric obesity, reducing burdens on specialist services.