Date of Conferral

10-6-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Sally Willis

Abstract

Dieticians play a vital role in the fight against pediatric obesity in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore dieticians’ perceptions of internal and external reinforcements and barriers to childhood obesity interventions in children’s hospitals within Northeast Maryland. The study was framed by the social cognitive theory described by Bandura. As applied to this study, the theory focuses on prevention and intervention strategies used by dieticians working in children’s hospitals while offering educational interventions and other health care services. Interviews were conducted with eight dieticians with a minimum of 4 years working in children’s hospitals located in the Northeast region of Maryland who were actively engaged in educational obesity services. Analysis of coded data yielded several emergent themes: nutritional interventions to foster healthy eating, motivational counseling to address the challenge of living unhealthily, dietary education for behavioral modification, encouragement to develop achievable goals to build patients’ confidence, patient incentives and rewards for adoption of a healthy alternative lifestyle, health literacy programs among multidisciplinary clinicians, the use of appropriate languages and enhancement of health literacy, the challenge of addressing weight stigmatization, and dieticians as an educator. Positive social change may occur through health professionals’ application of the findings to provide the best strategies for addressing pediatric obesity. Understanding and applying the study's findings to pediatric health services may improve policies and enhance interventions regarding healthy living and health literacy.

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