Development of Trigger Films to Explore Nursing Students' Attitudes Toward Patients with Obesity

Given the increased prevalence of obesity and the existence of negative attitudes among health care providers toward patients with obesity (PWO), strategies are needed to assist nursing students in identifying and examining attitudes and beliefs related to the provision of care for individuals with obesity. Nursing school curricula should incorporate effective interventions for students in order to reduce stigmas and to modify negative attitudes and behaviors that interfere with quality nursing care for PWO. This article describes the process of developing and implementing an innovative bariatric sensitivity intervention (BSI) for prelicensure nursing students.

The BSI includes six trigger films that address the multi-faceted aspects of caring for PWO and provoke reflection on obesity-related attitudes and beliefs, as well as a facilitated debrief.

We discuss the practical aspects of video production and the successful use of multimedia instruction to affect prelicensure nursing students' behaviors.