Evaluation of a Pediatric Obesity Management Toolkit for Health Care Professionals: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Health care professionals (HCPs) play a critical role in helping to address weight-related issues with pediatric patients, yet often feel ill-equipped to discuss/manage this complex and sensitive health issue. Using the five As (“Ask, Assess, Advise, Agree, and Assist”) of Pediatric Obesity Management, we created a series of educational videos and evaluated the content, quality (acceptability, engagement), and impact of these videos on HCPs’ self-efficacy, knowledge, and change in practice when addressing weight-related issues with pediatric patients and their families using questionnaires. HCPs (n = 65) participated in a baseline assessment and 4–6 month follow-up (n = 54). Knowledge and self-efficacy increased post-video for the majority of participants. At follow-up, most HCPs reported a change in their practice attributable to viewing the videos, and their self-efficacy ratings improved over time for the majority of questions asked. Most participants rated aspects of each of the videos highly. Preliminary findings suggest that an evidence-based educational toolkit of videos, based on the 5As framework, may lead to changes in self-reported behaviors among HCPs, and sustained improvements in their self-efficacy in addressing weight-related topics with children and their families. (Clinical Trial Number NCT04126291).

Talking with pediatric patients with overweight or obesity and their parents: self-rated self-efficacy and perceived barriers of Dutch healthcare professionals from seven disciplines

“…pediatricians rated their SE on average a 8.1, yet still one in eight (12.9%) pediatricians perceived too many barriers to address weight and lifestyle when treating children with overweight or obesity. Recent Canadian studies report similar large interindividual differences among groups of pediatricians [16,17]. It is important to know that the role of pediatricians in the Netherlands is different than in other countries.…”

“…In other words, SE represents the drive to initiate and adapt behavior, aiming to match one's performance with the circumstances. Accordingly, an increased SE, which can result from training [14][15][16], could help HCPs overcome the barriers they perceive. However, how reported self-efficacy is associated with perceived barriers and the effort to start the conversation has not been studied, and insights into interdisciplinary differences are lacking.…”

Clinical review: Implementation of trauma informed care to optimally impact the treatment of childhood obesity

“…Some studies report statistically significant changes in BMI, although others report positive changes in health behaviors only. 5 Steps to Intervention: Ask, Assess, Advise, Agree, & Assist (5A's) [ [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] ] Focuses on: (1) Assisting clinicians in asking clients about health behaviors (2) Assessing interest in readiness for change (3) Assisting in those efforts and in follow-up All ages-pediatric (as developmentally appropriate), adolescent, adult, senior 5A's recognized as a framework for supporting behavior change in multiple areas, including working with families, children, and adolescents with obesity. …”

Pivot from Pain to Productive: Conversations about Weight Management in Youth with Obesity

“…The use of MI as an adjunct to disease management and treatment is well documented, including in the treatment of adolescents with obesity (33,34). Likewise, the 5As (ask, advise, assess, assist, and arrange) is another form of patientcentered communication that acts as an operationalized version of MI to help simplify discussions about behavior change and disease management in children and adults with obesity or other chronic diseases (35,36) (Table 1).…”