Introduction
Paediatric overweight and obesity is a serious, highly sensitive and stigmatising health problem affecting one in four school-aged children in New South Wales (NSW). Early identification and treatment of children above a healthy weight is important for improving health outcomes. However, growth assessments are not routinely undertaken by health professionals and weight status is rarely recognised or management initiated when patients attend clinical services. This program sought to educate paediatric staff to; (i) embed growth assessments in routine care, (ii) offer brief interventions and (iii) refer to appropriate services.
Methods
Development and rollout of a blended education package utilising online and face-to-face training to increase capacity to conduct accurate growth assessments and confidence to raise the issue. The training package was delivered state-wide to 16 Local Health Districts and Specialty Networks. Participants were from various disciplines including allied health, medical, nursing and oral health. Training involved a 40 minute online module followed by a 2 hour face-to-face session.
Results
6,597 staff completed the online modules and over 600 attended face-to-face training. 82% of all participants stated that training content and resources were useful and relevant to their practice; 81% felt it had given them confidence. Change to clinical practice was evaluated using electronic medical record data. This indicates significant improvements across NSW; more children are now having their growth measured. Clinician awareness of state-wide programs, such as Go4Fun and Get Healthy Service, is improving and the program is contributing to increased referral rates.
Conclusion
This package has been successful in helping address common barriers for clinicians to talk about weight status in both public health and primary care settings. The program will focus next on supporting settings providing care to the children most at risk. It is a scalable approach, which could be adopted in other jurisdictions and internationally.