Date of Conferral
2018
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Mattie Burton
Abstract
The rate of obesity continues to rise in the United States and globally, placing populations at
increased risk of obesity related conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer,
and other disease states. Literature review shows that there have been many different methods
utilized to halt obesity's progression, however rates continue to increase. The United States
Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), American Heart Association (AHA), and other
agencies recommend obesity screening and counseling at every patient encounter, but most
hospitals do not have a current obesity policy in place to accomplish this task. The purpose of
this project is to develop a program proposal for a hospital-based, obesity tool based on the 5 A's
framework to increase screening and referrals of obese, adult patients ages 18 and over. The
logic model was utilized to guide the program development, implementation, evaluation, and
dissemination. The program was accepted by the hospitalist group and nurse leaders for full
development and evaluation. Key stakeholders and content experts were convened to create a
proposal and algorithm to guide the project. The obesity program will increase screenings and
referrals upon full adoption. Increase in screenings and referrals will improve care, quality of
life, weight status, and decrease health care expenditure. The results of dissemination of the
program may stimulate other facilities to adopt the program to combat obesity and contribute to
social change
The rate of obesity continues to rise in the United States and globally, placing populations at
increased risk of obesity related conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer,
and other disease states. Literature review shows that there have been many different methods
utilized to halt obesity's progression, however rates continue to increase. The United States
Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF), American Heart Association (AHA), and other
agencies recommend obesity screening and counseling at every patient encounter, but most
hospitals do not have a current obesity policy in place to accomplish this task. The purpose of
this project is to develop a program proposal for a hospital-based, obesity tool based on the 5 A's
framework to increase screening and referrals of obese, adult patients ages 18 and over. The
logic model was utilized to guide the program development, implementation, evaluation, and
dissemination. The program was accepted by the hospitalist group and nurse leaders for full
development and evaluation. Key stakeholders and content experts were convened to create a
proposal and algorithm to guide the project. The obesity program will increase screenings and
referrals upon full adoption. Increase in screenings and referrals will improve care, quality of
life, weight status, and decrease health care expenditure. The results of dissemination of the
program may stimulate other facilities to adopt the program to combat obesity and contribute to
social change
The rate of obesity continues to rise in the United States and globally, placing populations at increased risk of obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and other disease states. A review of the literature showed that multiple methods have been used to address the rate of progression; however, obesity rates continue to increase. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, American Heart Association, and other agencies recommend obesity screening and counseling at every patient encounter; most hospitals do not have a policy to accomplish this task. The purpose of this project was to develop an obesity screening and referral tool for the hospital setting. The resulting tool was based on the 5 As framework to increase screening and referrals of obese patients. The logic model was used to guide program development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. Results of the obesity screening and referral program showed an increase in screenings and referrals upon a trial adoption, raising the number of identified referrals to 23, compared to 2 patients identified for referral prior to program implementation (p = 0.035). An increase in screenings and referrals can bring about positive change by improving care, quality of life, and weight status of patients and decreasing health care expenditure.
Recommended Citation
Cabrera, Tammy Elaine, "Increasing Referrals of Hospitalized Obese Patients" (2018). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 5990.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5990
