BACKGROUND: Physician feelings of ineffectiveness and family-related barriers hamper childhood obesity discussions. Physicians desire appealing, time-efficient tools to frame and sensitively address obesity, body mass index, physical activity, nutrition, and portion size. Our university design-led coalition codeveloped tools and games for this purpose. METHODS: In this feasibility study, we evaluated physician-level counseling of 9- to 12-year-old children and their parents/caretakers using Fitwits MD (Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, PA), a brief, structured intervention with flashcards and take-home games. Residency-based physicians in three low- to mid-level socioeconomic urban offices provided self-report data over 8 months through surveys, comment cards, and interviews. RESULTS: We recruited 33 physicians and 93 preadolescents and families. Child-centered key messages resulted in 7-minute conversations, on average. For those physicians who used Fitwits MD, 96% felt improved comfort and competence and 78% noted barrier reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Fitwits MD improved residency-based physician self-efficacy and emphasized important health education topics regarding office-based childhood obesity discussions with preadolescents and parents/caretakers.
BACKGROUND: Physician feelings of ineffectiveness and family-related barriers hamper childhood obesity discussions. Physicians desire appealing, time-efficient tools to frame and sensitively address obesity, body mass index, physical activity, nutrition, and portion size. Our university design-led coalition codeveloped tools and games for this purpose. METHODS: In this feasibility study, we evaluated physician-level counseling of 9- to 12-year-old children and their parents/caretakers using Fitwits MD (Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, PA), a brief, structured intervention with flashcards and take-home games. Residency-based physicians in three low- to mid-level socioeconomic urban offices provided self-report data over 8 months through surveys, comment cards, and interviews. RESULTS: We recruited 33 physicians and 93 preadolescents and families. Child-centered key messages resulted in 7-minute conversations, on average. For those physicians who used Fitwits MD, 96% felt improved comfort and competence and 78% noted barrier reduction. CONCLUSIONS:Fitwits MD improved residency-based physician self-efficacy and emphasized important health education topics regarding office-based childhood obesity discussions with preadolescents and parents/caretakers.
Authors: Samareh G Hill; Thao-Ly T Phan; George A Datto; Jobayer Hossain; Lloyd N Werk; Diane Abatemarco Journal: J Child Health Care Date: 2018-05-23 Impact factor: 1.979
Authors: Shannon M Robson; Christopher Bolling; Mary Beth McCullough; Cathleen Odar Stough; Lori J Stark Journal: J Pediatr Date: 2016-07-22 Impact factor: 4.406