Nicholas Elmitt

Feasibility and acceptability of a physician-delivered weight management programme

Background. Primary health care requires new approaches to assist patients with overweight and obesity. This is a particular concern for patients with limited access to specialist or allied health services due to financial cost or location. The Change Program is a toolkit that provides a structured approach for GPs working with patients on weight management. Objective. To assess the acceptability and feasibility of a GP-delivered weight management programme. Methods. A feasibility trial in five Australian general practices with 12 GPs and 23 patients. Mixed methods were used to assess the objective through participant interviews, online surveys and the NOrmalization MeAsure Development (NoMAD) tool based on Normalization Process Theory. Content analysis of interviews is presented alongside Likert scales, free text and the NoMAD tool. Results. The Change Program was acceptable to most GPs and patients. It was best suited to patient–GP dyads where the patient felt a strong preference for GP involvement. Patients’ main concerns were the time and possible cost associated with the programme if run outside a research setting. For sustainable implementation, it would have been preferable to recruit a whole practice rather than single GPs to enable activation of systems to support the programme. Conclusion. A GP-delivered weight management programme is feasible and acceptable for patients with obesity in Australian primary health care. The addition of this structured toolkit to support GPs is particularly important for patients with a strong preference for GP involvement or who are unable to access other resources due to cost or location.

Increasing general practitioners' confidence and self-efficacy in managing obesity: a mixed methods study

Objectives Internationally, general practitioners (GPs) are being encouraged to take an active role in the care of their patients with obesity, but as yet there are few tools for them to implement within their clinics. This study assessed the self-efficacy and confidence of GPs before and after implementing a weight management programme in their practice. Design Nested mixed methods study within a 6-month feasibility trial. Setting 4 urban general practices and 1 rural general practice in Australia. Participants All vocationally registered GPs in the local region were eligible and invited to participate; 12 GPs were recruited and 11 completed the study. Interventions The Change Programme is a structured GP-delivered weight management programme that uses the therapeutic relationship between the patient and their GP to provide holistic and person-centred care. It is an evidence-based programme founded on Australian guidelines for the management of obesity in primary care. Primary outcome measures Self-efficacy and confidence of the GPs when managing obesity was measured using a quantitative survey consisting of Likert scales in conjunction with pro forma interviews. Results In line with social cognitive theory, GPs who experienced performance mastery during the pilot intervention had an increase in their confidence and self-efficacy. In particular, confidence in assisting and arranging care for patients was improved as demonstrated in the survey and supported by the qualitative data. Most importantly from the qualitative data, GPs described changing their usual practice and felt more confident to discuss obesity with all of their patients. Conclusions A structured management tool for obesity care in general practice can improve GP confidence and self-efficacy in managing obesity. Enhancing GP ‘professional self-efficacy’ is the first step to improving obesity management within general practice. Trial registration number ACTRN12614001192673; Results.

People-centred integration in a refugee primary care service: A complex adaptive systems perspective

Purpose Services for refugees and asylum seekers frequently experience gaps in delivery and access, poor coordination, and service stress. The purpose of this paper is to examine the approach to integrated care within Companion House (CH), a refugee primary care service, whose service mix includes counselling, medical care, community development, and advocacy. Like all Australian refugee and asylum seeker support services, CH operates within an uncertain policy environment, constantly adapting to funding challenges, and changing needs of patient populations. Design/methodology/approach Interviews with staff, social network analysis, group patient interviews, and service mapping. Findings CH has created fluid links between teams, and encouraged open dialogue with client populations. There is a high level of networking between staff, much of it informal. This is underpinned by horizontal management and staff commitment to a shared mission and an ethos of mutual respect. The clinical teams are collectively oriented towards patients but not necessarily towards each other. Research limitations/implications Part of the service’s resilience and ongoing service orientation is due to the fostering of an emergent self-organising form of integration through a complex adaptive systems approach. The outcome of this integration is characterised through the metaphors of “home” for patients, and “family” for staff. CH’s model of integration has relevance for other services for marginalised populations with complex service needs. Originality/value This study provides new evidence on the importance of both formal and informal communication, and that limited formal integration between clinical teams is no bar to integration as an outcome for patients.

The role of the family doctor in the management of adults who are obese: a scoping review protocol

BackgroundThe role of family doctors in the management of obesity in primary care will become increasingly important as more of the adult population become overweight or obese. Having a solid understanding of the family doctor’s role as a sole practitioner is important for supporting practitioners in providing patient care and for informing future research.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to describe a protocol for a scoping review that aims to examine and map the current research base for the role of the family doctor in managing adults who are overweight or obese.MethodsThis scoping review is based on the methodology as described by the Joanna Briggs Institute which involves final consultation with stakeholders. Two reviewers (ES, NE) will be responsible for the iterative development of a search strategy based on the basic initial search terms obesity, doctor and primary care. Black and grey literature will be searched to elucidate any manuscripts involving the family doctor in the management of adults who are overweight or obese. A customised data extraction tool will be used to collect relevant items from each manuscript.ResultsData extraction will expose the role family doctors are playing in obesity management in all stages of research including recruitment, intervention or as a control group. By looking at a broad scope of manuscripts we will discover the family doctor’s role as portrayed in research, in international guidelines and by peak bodies. We will also determine if there are any gaps in the research base.ConclusionThis protocol describes a scoping review that will illustrate the supporting international research for the role family doctors are playing in the management of adults who are overweight or obese. Scoping of the international literature will then be translated for Australian primary care.

Role of the family doctor in the management of adults with obesity: a scoping review

Objectives Obesity management is an important issue for the international primary care community. This scoping review examines the literature describing the role of the family doctor in managing adults with obesity. The methods were prospectively published and followed Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Setting Primary care. Adult patients. Included papers Peer-reviewed and grey literature with the keywords obesity, primary care and family doctors. All literature published up to September 2015. 3294 non-duplicate papers were identified and 225 articles included after full-text review. Primary and secondary outcome measures Data were extracted on the family doctors’ involvement in different aspects of management, and whether whole person and person-centred care were explicitly mentioned. Results 110 papers described interventions in primary care and family doctors were always involved in diagnosing obesity and often in recruitment of participants. A clear description of the provider involved in an intervention was often lacking. It was difficult to determine if interventions took account of whole person and person-centredness. Most opinion papers and clinical overviews described an extensive role for the family doctor in management; in contrast, research on current practices depicted obesity as undermanaged by family doctors. International guidelines varied in their description of the role of the family doctor with a more extensive role suggested by guidelines from family medicine organisations. Conclusions There is a disconnect between how family doctors are involved in primary care interventions, the message in clinical overviews and opinion papers, and observed current practice of family doctors. The role of family doctors in international guidelines for obesity may reflect the strength of primary care in the originating health system. Reporting of primary care interventions could be improved by enhanced descriptions of the providers involved and explanation of how the pillars of primary care are used in intervention development.

Metabolic syndrome and weight management programs in primary care: a comparison of three international healthcare systems

Lifestyle behaviours are contributing to the increasing incidence of chronic disease across all developed countries. Australia, Canada and the UK have had different approaches to the role of primary care in the prevention and management of lifestyle-related diseases. Both obesity and metabolic syndrome have been targeted by programs to reduce individual risk for chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes. Three interventions are described - for either obesity or metabolic syndrome - that have varying levels of involvement of GPs and other primary care professionals. The structure of a healthcare system for example, financing and physical locations of primary care clinicians, shapes the development of primary care interventions. The type of clinicians involved in interventions, whether they work alone or in teams, is influenced by the primary care setting and resource availability. Australian clinicians and policymakers should take into account the healthcare system where interventions are developed when translating interventions to the Australian context.

Obesity management in primary care

www.thelancet.com Vol 389 April 22, 2017 1605 to, and take the advice of, health professionals whom they trust. Aveyard and colleagues’ trial demonstrates this skilfully. 40% of participants attended an externally delivered weight loss programme when it was offered by their GP, which is substantially higher than the 9% who attended after receiving generalised community messages about weight loss. It would be interesting to explore the effect on patient behaviour had the GP been more closely involved in intervention delivery. In developing behaviour change programmes, we need to use the strengths of GPs as reliable and valued Messengers to not only increase uptake of interventions delivered by others, but also to coordinate, contextualise, and deliver their own health or behaviour messages. Fragmentation of the health-care system risks undermining the ability of GPs to use the comprehensive, relationship-based nature of primary care and their function as valued Messengers. The right balance between GP referral and delivery of their services reduces care fragmentation, strengthens clinician– patient relationships and decreases cost to the patient and health-care system.