Development and application of the Imperial College Obesity Strategy Assessment Framework for analysing local obesity strategies.

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a major public health issue because of its increasing prevalence and impact on health. The management of overweight and obesity has been a government priority for many years. However, overweight and obesity management at a local level has often been ineffective. Although there is a need to examine obesity strategies and policies for local populations, there is currently no readily available framework for evaluating local obesity strategies. We therefore developed a framework, the Imperial College Obesity Strategy Assessment Framework (IC-OSAF), for examining the content of local obesity strategies.

METHODS

We adapted two previous policy analysis frameworks (Bardach's Eightfold Path Framework and Collins' Health Policy Analysis Framework) and used these with information from national guidelines to develop an obesity strategy analysis framework. We then piloted this framework using the obesity strategy for one London primary care trust (PCT).

RESULTS

The framework was applied successfully and helped identify limitations and omissions in the PCT obesity management strategy.

CONCLUSIONS

The IC-OSAF is a practical, easy-to-use tool for the analysis of local obesity management strategies. The framework can help identify gaps and limitations in strategies to help reduce variations in obesity management between PCTs.