Health professionals' views and experiences of discussing weight with children and their families:A systematic review of qualitative research

Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals are ideally placed to discuss weight management with children and families to treat and prevent childhood obesity. The aim of this review was to collect and synthesize primary research evidence relating to health professional's views and experiences of discussing weight with children and their families. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE (OVID), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE (OVID), PsycINFO (OVID) and Healthcare Management Information Consortium (HMIC). Twenty-six full text qualitative studies published in English Language journals since inception to October 2019 were included. Papers were quality assessed and synthesized using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Results: Data analysis generated five themes: sensitivity of the issue, family–professional relationships, whole systems approach, professional competency and sociocultural context. Conclusion: Supporting behaviour change through discussion of healthy weight with children and families is an important part of the health professional's role. Tailored information for professionals, including resources and training, facilitates them to confidently talk to children and families about weight prioritized within interventions. The success of such interventions requires commitment from a range of professionals to ensure healthy weight is tackled through a whole system approach.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12854
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Psychology
College of Health & Life Sciences
Additional Information: © 2021 The Authors. Child: Care, Health and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: children,family health,health professional,obesity,weight,Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health,Developmental and Educational Psychology,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Publication ISSN: 0305-1862
Last Modified: 12 Mar 2024 08:22
Date Deposited: 10 May 2021 12:25
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2021-07
Published Online Date: 2021-02-16
Accepted Date: 2021-02-03
Authors: Abdin, Shanara
Heath, Gemma (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-1569-5576)
Welch, Richard K.

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