Supporting healthcare professionals to address child weight with parents: A qualitative study

Pallan, Miranda, Mason, Frances, Parretti, Helen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7184-269X, Adab, Peymané, Abbott, Sally and Jolly, Kate (2024) Supporting healthcare professionals to address child weight with parents: A qualitative study. British Journal of General Practice, 74 (743). e417-e425. ISSN 0960-1643

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Primary care and community healthcare professionals (HCPs) are well placed to discuss child excess weight with parents and support them to make changes. However, HCPs have concerns about addressing this issue. There is a need to understand the factors that influence HCPs in initiating these conversations to inform strategies to support them. AIM: To explore with HCPs, working in primary care and community settings, their experiences of having conversations about child weight with parents, and the factors that create barriers or facilitate them to have these conversations. DESIGN AND SETTING: A qualitative study with GPs, primary care nurses (PNs), and school nurses (SNs) in England. METHOD: GPs and PNs were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. SNs from a community healthcare NHS trust were recruited to participate in focus groups. Vignettes were used to stimulate discussion. Data were analysed guided by the Framework approach. RESULTS: Thirteen GPs, seven PNs, and 20 SNs participated. The following three themes were identified regarding barriers to HCPs having conversations about child excess weight: structural and organisational; HCP related; and parent or family related. The themes identified for the factors that facilitate these conversations were: structural changes (for example, dedicated appointments, access to weight assessment data, joined-up working across agencies); HCP approaches (for example, providing appropriate dietary and physical activity advice); and HCP knowledge and skills (for example, enhancing HCPs' general and weight management-related skills and knowledge of child weight management services). CONCLUSION: A range of barriers exist to HCPs addressing child excess weight with parents in primary care and community settings. Actions to effect structural changes and support HCPs in developing relevant knowledge and skills are required to overcome these barriers.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding: This project was funded by Public Health England. KJ is part-funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the authors’ employing universities, Public Health England, the National Health Service (NHS), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Uncontrolled Keywords: child,general practice,paediatric obesity,primary health care,qualitative research,school nursing,family practice ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2714
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Nutrition and Preventive Medicine
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 25 Oct 2023 02:24
Last Modified: 17 Jun 2024 08:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93460
DOI: 10.3399/BJGP.2023.0238

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