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Pediatric obesity management practices and needs: A survey of primary care providers
Bridget K Biggs1, Samuel J Nayman1, Tamim I Rajjo1
1Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Insights
Primary care providers (PCPs) face challenges connecting children with obesity to comprehensive health behavior and lifestyle treatments (CHBLTs). Expanding CHBLT availability and improving patient engagement are crucial for effective pediatric obesity care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Management
- Primary Care Practice
Background:
- Practice guidelines advocate for comprehensive health behavior and lifestyle treatments (CHBLTs) as a primary intervention for pediatric obesity.
- Primary care providers (PCPs) are central to identifying and managing childhood obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess PCPs' current practices, available resources, identified barriers, and unmet needs regarding CHBLTs for children with obesity.
- To inform strategies for improving the integration of CHBLTs into pediatric primary care.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 62 PCPs across a multi-site healthcare system in the Midwest, USA.
- The survey collected data on offered interventions, internal/external referral options, barriers to CHBLTs, and desired resources.
Main Results:
- PCPs commonly shared body mass index (BMI) and provided brief lifestyle counseling.
- Access to CHBLTs within clinics or the community was limited, despite PCPs deeming them highly important.
- Key barriers included service scarcity, perceived low family motivation, and time constraints. PCPs expressed a need for better referral options and training in motivational techniques.
Conclusions:
- Enhancing pediatric obesity treatment necessitates increasing the availability of CHBLTs and developing effective patient engagement strategies.
- Pediatric nurses possess competencies that could help bridge care gaps in pediatric obesity management within primary care settings.
Background:
Practice guidelines recommend all children with obesity are connected with comprehensive health behavior and lifestyle treatments (CHBLTs) as a first-line intervention.
Objective:
To understand primary care providers' (PCPs) current practices, resources, barriers, and needs related to providing or referring children with obesity to CHBLTs.
Design And Methods:
For this cross-sectional study, 62 PCPs from a multi-site healthcare system in the Midwest, USA, completed an online survey to report the following: which interventions they offer, referral options they have available inside and outside their practice, barriers to providing CHBLTs, and resources they want related to CHBLTs.
Results:
The most common practices included sharing body mass index with families and brief lifestyle counseling. Few PCPs reported access to CHBLTs in their clinic or in the community despite rating these services as highly important. Top barriers included lack of services, perceived family motivation, and time. PCPs desired referral options and training in motivational strategies.
Conclusions:
Implementation of best practices for pediatric obesity treatment will require expanded availability of CHBLTs and development of effective patient engagement approaches.
Practice Implications:
The competencies of pediatric nurses may be particularly well suited to addressing care gaps for pediatric obesity in primary care settings.
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