Barriers to obesity management: a pilot study of primary care clinicians

Valerie Forman-Hoffman; Amanda Little; Terry Wahls

doi:10.1186/1471-2296-7-35

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Barriers to obesity management: a pilot study of primary care clinicians

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Barriers to obesity management: a pilot study of primary care clinicians

Valerie Forman-Hoffman, Amanda Little and Terry Wahls

BMC family practice, Vol.7(1), pp.35-35

06/06/2006

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2296-7-35

PMCID: PMC1525170

PMID: 16756673

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Abstract

Obesity is an increasing epidemic in both the US and veteran populations, yet it remains largely understudied in the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) setting. The purpose of our study was to identify barriers to the effective management of obesity in VHA primary care settings. Three focus groups of clinicians from a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and an affiliated Community Based Outpatient Center (CBOC) were conducted to identify potential barriers to obesity management. The focus groups and previously published studies then informed the creation of a 47-item survey that was then disseminated and completed by 55 primary care clinicians. The focus groups identified provider, system, and patient barriers to obesity care. Lack of obesity training during medical school and residency was associated with lower rates of discussing diet and exercise with obese patients (p < 0.05). Clinicians who watched their own diets vigorously were more likely to calculate BMI for obese patients than other clinicians (42% vs. 13%, p < 0.05). Many barriers identified in previous studies (e.g., attitudes toward obese patients, lack of insurance payments for obesity care) were not prevalent barriers in the current study. Many VHA clinicians do not routinely provide weight management services for obese patients. The most prevalent barriers to obesity care were poor education during medical school and residency and the lack of information provided by the VHA to both clinicians and patients about available weight management services.

United States

Humans

Middle Aged

Male

Practice Patterns, Physicians

Primary Health Care - standards

Family Practice - standards

Adult

Female

Obesity - diagnosis

Ambulatory Care Facilities - standards

Body Mass Index

Attitude of Health Personnel

Clinical Competence

Counseling - utilization

Focus Groups

Iowa

Pilot Projects

Weight Loss

Hospitals, Veterans - standards

Obesity - prevention & control

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Veterans - statistics & numerical data

Family Practice - education

Veterans - education

Details

Title: Subtitle: Barriers to obesity management: a pilot study of primary care clinicians
Creators: Valerie Forman-Hoffman - Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice (CRIISP) Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, IA, USA. valerie-hoffman@uiowa.edu
Amanda Little
Terry Wahls
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: BMC family practice, Vol.7(1), pp.35-35
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2296-7-35
PMID: 16756673
PMCID: PMC1525170
NLM abbreviation: BMC Fam Pract
ISSN: 1471-2296
eISSN: 1471-2296
Publisher: England
Language: English
Date published: 06/06/2006
Academic Unit: Neurology; Epidemiology; General Internal Medicine; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984020627302771

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