Linking pediatric primary care obesity management to community programs

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Obesity Management
• Healthcare Systems Integration

Background:

• Primary care guidelines recommend connecting patients with community services for obesity management.
• The Promoting Health Project (PHP) aimed to improve care for obese children by integrating community resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a practice-based intervention linking primary care with community nutrition and physical activity programs for children.
• To identify challenges and facilitators in establishing practice-to-community connections for pediatric obesity care.

Main Methods:

• A multi-component intervention involving Quality Improvement (QI) teams at three primary care practices.
• Identification and profiling of 40 community nutrition/physical activity services.
• Implementation of referral systems facilitated by a Practice Community Coordinator (PCC), with tracking of patient referrals and interactions.

Main Results:

• Forty-six children participated in community programs following intervention.
• Significant effort was required to establish effective referral pathways.
• Clinicians reported satisfaction with the developed systems, but family motivation emerged as a barrier to program attendance.

Conclusions:

• Integrating primary care with community services for pediatric obesity is resource-intensive.
• Successful linkage requires dedicated resources and strategies to address family engagement barriers.
• The intervention demonstrated potential but highlighted the need for sustained support and family-centered approaches.