Abstract
BackgroundHealth professionals working in primary care and public health have opportunities to address body weight status issues with their patients through face-to-face contact. The objectives of this all-Ireland project are: 1. to assess the attitudes, current practices/behaviours and knowledge of key health professional groups on body weight status; 2. to assess the health professional groups' ability to identify body weight status in both adults and children. The health professional groups are: (a) community related public health nurses; (b) school public health nurses; (c) GPs and practice nurses (primary care); and (d) occupational health nurses (workplace) from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Methods/DesignThis all-Ireland multi-disciplinary project follows a mixed methods approach using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and consists of four components:1. Literature review - to explore the role of health professionals in managing obesity through spontaneous intervention in a variety of health promotion settings.2. Telephone interviews and focus groups - to gain an in-depth insight into the views of health professionals in assessing body weight status.3. Survey (primarily online but also paper-based) - to determine the attitudes, current practices/behaviours and knowledge of health professionals in assessing body weight status.4. Online evaluation study - an online interactive programme will be developed to assess health professionals' ability to identify the body weight status of adults and children.DiscussionThis project will assess and report the attitudes, current practices/behaviours and knowledge of key health professional groups within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on body weight status, and their ability to identify body weight status in both adults and children. The results of this project will generate recommendations for clinical practice in managing obesity, which may inform policy guidelines.
Highlights
Health professionals working in primary care and public health have opportunities to address body weight status issues with their patients through face-to-face contact
Telephone interviews and focus groups - to gain an in-depth insight into the views of health professionals in assessing body weight status
Studies in the UK indicate that General Practice (GP) may have a negative attitude towards obese patients [12,13], and further studies have reported this among physicians [14] and a range of health professionals [15]
Summary
This all-Ireland multidisciplinary Weight Care Project aims to assess the attitudes, current practices/behaviours and knowledge of key health professional groups in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on body weight status; and to assess the ability of health professional groups to identify body weight status in both adults and children. The target health professional groups include: community related public health nurses; school public health nurses; GPs and practice nurses (primary care); and occupational health nurses (workplace). This will be achieved using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, namely interviews, focus groups, survey and an online evaluation study. The DVD/video incorporated into an online evaluation study is an innovative method to assess the health professional groups’ ability to identify body weight categories in both adults and children. A range of strategies will be employed to maximise recruitment of nurses and GPs. As there is limited published research of health professionals assessing body weight status, this project will
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