Wharton Sean, Macklin David, Morin Marie-Philippe, Blavignac Jessica, Menzies Stuart, Garofalo Laura, Francisco Michelle A, Thomas Carol, Barakat Maxime
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
BMC Prim Care. 2022 May 2;23(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s12875-022-01715-w.
Obesity is a chronic problem in Canada and although the Canadian Medical Association recognizes obesity as a disease, health care professionals (HCPs) are not necessarily proactively managing it as one. This study aimed to assess current obesity management knowledge and practices of Canadian family physicians (FPs) and evaluate the feasibility of an online self-directed learning platform, i-ACT™ in Obesity, in delivering learning and changing practice intentions to advance obesity management.
i-ACT™ in Obesity is an online self-directed learning program designed by Canadian obesity medicine experts to provide individualized learning curricula to participants. One hundred FPs, with an interest in weight management and managing patients with obesity, were recruited across Canada to participate in a pilot study. FP education was delivered in a stepwise manner. Each participant completed a practice profile assessment to determine knowledge gaps and educational needs. Learners then watched didactic videos across disciplines on topics assigned to their curriculum by the program algorithm based on the relative difference between indicated and desired current knowledge. FPs also completed 10 retrospective patient assessments to assess clinical management practices and planned behaviour change. Feasibility, acceptability, and satisfaction of the learning program were assessed to formulate the rationale for a more widespread deployment in the future. Survey responses and related data were analyzed using comparative measures and descriptive statistics.
The program was piloted by ninety-one Canadian FPs, where 900 patients were assessed. FPs showed distinct differences between their current and desired levels of comfort in a variety of obesity-related topics. Participation was associated with an intention to use more obesity treatment interventions moving forward. The program received an overall satisfaction rating of 8.6 out of 10 and 100% of the evaluators indicated that they would recommend it to their colleagues.
The program was overall well received and successfully changed obesity management intentions among participating FPs, thus setting the stage for a larger more comprehensive study to examine the efficacy of i-ACT™ in Obesity in addressing knowledge gaps and advancing evidence-based, guidelines-aligned approach to obesity treatment.
肥胖是加拿大的一个慢性问题，尽管加拿大医学协会将肥胖认定为一种疾病，但医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）不一定会将其作为一种疾病进行积极管理。本研究旨在评估加拿大家庭医生（FPs）当前的肥胖管理知识和实践，并评估一个在线自主学习平台——肥胖症i-ACT™在提供学习内容以及改变实践意图以推进肥胖管理方面的可行性。
肥胖症i-ACT™是一个由加拿大肥胖医学专家设计的在线自主学习项目，旨在为参与者提供个性化的学习课程。在加拿大各地招募了100名对体重管理和肥胖患者管理感兴趣的家庭医生参与一项试点研究。家庭医生的教育是逐步进行的。每位参与者完成一份实践概况评估，以确定知识差距和教育需求。然后，学习者根据程序算法根据当前指示知识与期望知识之间的相对差异，观看分配到其课程中的各学科教学视频。家庭医生还完成了10次回顾性患者评估，以评估临床管理实践和计划的行为改变。评估了学习项目的可行性、可接受性和满意度，为未来更广泛的推广制定依据。使用比较措施和描述性统计分析调查回复及相关数据。
该项目由91名加拿大家庭医生进行试点，共评估了900名患者。家庭医生在各种肥胖相关主题上的当前舒适程度与期望舒适程度之间存在明显差异。参与与未来使用更多肥胖治疗干预措施的意图相关。该项目的总体满意度评分为8.6分（满分10分），100%的评估者表示他们会向同事推荐该项目。
该项目总体上受到好评，并成功改变了参与项目的家庭医生对肥胖管理的意图，从而为一项更大规模、更全面的研究奠定了基础，以检验肥胖症i-ACT™在解决知识差距以及推进基于证据、符合指南的肥胖治疗方法方面的效果。
