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.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Sept. 17, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-148).