Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Weight Management in Primary Care

Abstract

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Weight Management in Primary Care Obesity has become a major health problem. The disease and its associated comorbidities impact health of patients and increase healthcare costs. Primary care providers have the potential to proactively address weight management. The importance of both prevention and treatment of obesity argues for addressing this matter at every provider-patient encounter. The literature suggests that a large percentage of providers do not broach the subject of weight management with patients. The American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and The Obesity Society (TOS) have developed a guideline for dealing with weight management. It is lengthy, however, and a modified and quick reference tool that outlines the suggested interventions may assist providers. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to evaluate whether the use of a modified version of the AHA/ACC/TOS guideline is feasible, and whether providers express more comfort in addressing obesity issues with use of the protocol. The utilization of a brief moderated version of the protocol may improve the frequency of use thereby effectively addressing weight management interventions. The question is: Does the utilization of a modified version of the AHA/ACC/TOS guidelines affect provider’s willingness to initiate weight management education and counseling? Providers utilized Watson’s Theory of Human Caring to engage patients in conversations about weight. The AHA/ACC/TOS guideline was utilized to create a brief one page protocol for use at each patient visit for ten days. The providers kept a tally of how many patients were seen and listed reasons that prevented the modified guidelines from being utilized. Analysis of the data suggest that the use of a modified protocol may facilitate the discussion of weight management. This innovative practice change has the potential to greatly impact weight management in the primary care setting.