Initiation of health behavior discussions during primary care outpatient visits

Discussing Weight in Real World GP Consultations: A Video Recording Analysis Study

Objective

GPs have a complex role in obesity management due to patients' individualized experience of living with obesity, coupled with the challenge to deliver healthcare messages in non-stigmatizing ways. This study aimed to explore who initiates the topic of weight and how weight was discussed in real-world GP-patient consultations.

Method

A multi-disciplinary team, including obesity lived experience experts, undertook a secondary data analysis of 43 Australian video recorded consultations and patient surveys from The Digital Library using descriptive content analysis.

Results

17/43 consultations included the topic of weight in the discussion. 15 were initiated by the GP and 2 by the patient. 14/17 used a structured approach. All GPs asked for consent to discuss weight or gave patients space to decline the discussion. No overt stigmatizing language was identified. A post-consultation survey found 15/17 patients (2 unanswered) felt listened to and respected during consultations.

Conclusion

This study identified the intricate ways GPs approach weight discussions in consultations. GPs navigated weight discussions in ways that made patients feel respected and listened to and related weight to health concerns relevant to each patient.

Practice Implications

The findings in this study can serve as a foundation for establishing education and training resources for GPs and can be utilized as a way of continuing professional development. Any future communication technique resources for GPs should be co-designed with obesity lived experience experts to ensure appropriateness and avoid potential stigma and harm.

Discussing diet, nutrition, and body weight after treatment for gynecological cancer: a conversation analytic study of outpatient consultations

PURPOSE

To generate direct observational evidence for understanding how diet, nutrition, and weight-related topics are discussed during follow-up after treatment for gynecological cancer, as recommended by survivorship care guidelines.

METHODS

Conversation analysis of 30 audio-recorded outpatient consultations, involving 4 gyne-oncologists, 30 women who had completed treatment for ovarian or endometrial cancer, and 11 family members/friends.

RESULTS

From 21 instances in 18 consultations, diet, nutrition, or weight-related talk continued beyond initiation if the issue raised was ostensibly relevant to the clinical activity being undertaken at the time. These instances led to care-related outcomes (i.e., general dietary recommendations, referral to support, behavior change counseling) only when the patient identified needing further support. Diet, nutrition, or weight-related talk was not continued by the clinician if it was not apparently related to the current clinical activity.

CONCLUSIONS

The continuation of diet, nutrition, or weight-related talk during outpatient consultations after treatment for gynecological cancer, and the subsequent delivery of care-related outcomes, depends on its immediate clinical relevance and the patient indicating needing further support. The contingent nature of these discussions means there can be missed opportunities for the provision of dietary information and support post-treatment.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

If seeking information or support for diet, nutrition, or weight-related issues post-treatment, cancer survivors may need to be explicit regarding their need for this during outpatient follow-up. Additional avenues for dietary needs assessment and referral should be considered to optimize the consistent delivery of diet, nutrition, and weight-related information and support after treatment for gynecological cancer.

Preventiometer, a Novel Wellness Assessment Device, Used With Healthy Volunteers: A Phase 2 Study

Background

We previously reported on a pilot study to assess the incorporation of a novel wellness assessment device, the Preventiometer (iPEx5 GmbH, Greifswald, Germany), into an academic medical practice. The present follow-up study expands on those data and evaluates the acceptability of the assessment process in a larger sample population.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate participant satisfaction with the Preventiometer wellness assessment.

Methods

A total of 60 healthy volunteers participated. Each participant underwent a comprehensive wellness assessment with the Preventiometer and received data from more than 30 diagnostic tests. A 32-question survey (with a numeric rating scale from 0 to 10) was used to rate the wellness assessment tests and participants' impressions of the wellness assessment.

Results

Each assessment had a significantly higher rating than 7 (P < .001), and the majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied (98.3%), and they strongly agreed that they were engaged the entire time (93.2%), and liked the instant test results feature of the Preventiometer device (93.2%).

Conclusion

This study confirms findings from our previous pilot study regarding the feasibility of the Preventiometer as a wellness assessment tool. The study further demonstrated that 98% of participants were satisfied with the assessment and that all of them would recommend it to others.

Clinical encounters about obesity: Systematic review of patients' perspectives

Guidelines recommend clinicians intervene on obesity but it is unclear how people with overweight react. In this systematic review, we searched 20 online databases for qualitative studies interviewing people with overweight or obesity who had consulted a primary care clinician. Framework synthesis was used to analyse 21 studies to produce a new theoretical understanding. Consultations in which patients discussed their weight were more infrequent than patients would have liked, which some perceived was because they were unworthy of medical time; others that it indicated doctors feel being overweight is not a serious risk. Patients reported that doctors offered banal advice assuming that the patient ate unhealthily or was not trying to address their weight. Patients reported doctors assumed that their symptoms were due to overweight without a proper history or examination, creating concern that serious illness may be missed. Patients responded positively to offers of support for weight loss and active monitoring of weight. Patients with overweight internalize weight stigma sensitizing them to clues that clinicians are judging them negatively, even if weight is not discussed. Patients' negative experiences in consultations relate to perceived snap judgements and flippant advice and negative experiences appear more salient than positive ones.

Discussing lifestyle behaviors: perspectives and experiences of general practitioners

Background: Initiatives aimed at increasing participation in preventive health behaviors has been identified as a priority for addressing the increasing incidence of non-communicable chronic disease. General practice is an existing network that can be leveraged to intervene and promote messages for health behavior change. We aimed to explore the extent to which ‘lifestyle’ behaviors are discussed by general practitioners (GPs) with their patients in their practices, and the context and content of these discussions.

Methods: GPs (N = 26) practising in Australian clinics participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Results showed discussions of lifestyle behaviors were brief, but relatively frequent and often initiated by the GP. GPs generally provided basic advice and education that was often ad-hoc and in reaction to prompts from the patient. GPs recognized the importance of addressing lifestyle behaviors in practice, but also highlighted substantive barriers that limit the initiation of these discussions. These included patient readiness for change, patient acceptance and openness, patient accountability and responsibility, patient background factors, GPs’ role and knowledge, GP financial implications, GP-patient relationship, and lack of time.

Conclusions: Current findings provide important preliminary knowledge on the extent to which Australian GPs discuss lifestyle behavior change with patients during routine consultations, the context and content of these discussions, and barriers to initiating these discussions. Further research should seek to gain a better understanding of barriers and identify strategies to mitigate their impact. This might maximize the potential for GPs to promote adaptive lifestyle behavior change for improving patient health.

Emerging Adults' Discussion of Substance Use and Sexual Behavior with Providers

Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) is a time of increased autonomy and associated with a high rate of risky substance use and sexual behavior. As emerging adults (EA) increasingly have more independence, they have the ability to make health decisions, including whether to see a provider (primary care (PCP) and/or gynecologist (GYN)) and whether to discuss substance use and sexual behavior. The current study aimed to determine: (1) factors associated with PCP and GYN health-care seeking by sexually active EA who use alcohol and/or marijuana; (2) gender differences in substance use and sexual risk topics initiated by providers; (3) whether PCPs compared to GYNs discuss different topics with women. Alcohol and/or marijuana-using, sexually active EA (n = 500) were recruited as part of a health behaviors study. Among participants, 39% did not see a PCP in the previous year. Women, White individuals, and EA with health insurance were most likely to attend a PCP appointment. Even among participants who saw a provider, many participants reported that providers did not initiate a discussion about substance use (approximately half discussed substance use) and sexual behavior (about half discussed STI history, two-thirds discussed condom use, and three-quarters discussed sexual partners). Among women with a PCP and GYN provider, discussions on substance use were more likely to be initiated by a PCP while sexual issues were more likely to be initiated by a GYN. Thus, even among sexually active, substance-using EA, central topics - specifically substance use and sexual behavior - are not routinely brought up by providers.

Initiating discussions about weight in a non-weight-specific setting: What can we learn about the interactional consequences of different communication practices from an examination of clinical consultations?

Objectives

Effective clinical communication is fundamental to tackling overweight and obesity. However, little is known about how weight is discussed in non‐weight‐specific settings where the primary purpose of the interaction concerns clinical matters apparently unrelated to weight. This study explores how mental health clinicians initiate discussions about a patient's possible weight problem in the non‐weight‐specific setting of a UK NHS Gender Identity Clinic (GIC), where weight is topicalized during discussions about the risks of treatment.

Design

A conversation analytic study.

Methods

A total of 194 recordings of routine clinician–patient consultations were collected from the GIC. Weight talk was initiated by four clinicians in 43 consultations. Twenty‐one instances contained reference to a possible weight problem. Transcripts were analysed using conversation analysis.

Results

Clinicians used three communication practices to initiate discussion of a possible weight problem with patients: (1) announcing that patients are overweight; (2) asking patients whether they are overweight; and (3) deducing that patients are overweight or obese via a body mass index (BMI) calculation. Announcing that patients are overweight is the least aligning practice that denies patient's agency and grammatically constrains them to agree with a negative label. Asking patients whether they are overweight treats them as having limited agency and generates comparatively aligning, but occasionally resistant, responses. Jointly deducing that patients are overweight or obese via a BMI calculation is the most aligning practice, which deflects responsibility for labelling the patient onto an objective instrument.

Conclusions

Small differences in the wording of turns that initiate discussions about a possible weight problem can have significant consequences for interactional alignment. Clinicians from different specialities may benefit from considering the interactional consequences of different practices for initiating discussions about weight during the kinds of real‐life discussions considered here.

A taboo topic? How General Practitioners talk about overweight and obesity in New Zealand

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Obesity is overtaking tobacco smoking in New Zealand as the leading potentially modifiable risk to health. International obesity guidelines recommend that health professionals opportunistically encourage weight management with their patients. However, research shows consistently low rates of weight management discussion, suggesting that health professionals may not be realising their full potential to address obesity. AIM To identify communication strategies used by General Practitioners (GPs) to open the topic of weight and weight management in routine consultations. METHODS A secondary analysis was conducted of 36 video-recorded consultations in general practices, selected for relevance from a database of 205 consultations. Content and interactional analysis was conducted in the context of the entire consultation. RESULTS The topic of weight was initiated more often by GPs than patients and was raised mostly once or twice in a consultation and occasionally as many as six times. GPs employed opportunistic strategies twice as often as they used structured strategies. DISCUSSION This study of naturally occurring consultations confirmed GPs do engage in opportunistic discussions about weight. However, such discussions are challenging and interactionally delicate. Highlighting the clinical relevance of weight appears to be effective. The high frequency of patient contact with GPs provides opportunity to reach and work with people at risk of chronic conditions associated with excess weight. Further research is required to identify suitable training and brief intervention tools for use in routine consultations that may be beneficial for both GPs and patients.

Nutrition Counselling Practices among General Practitioners in Croatia

Chronic non-communicable diseases are a significant public health problem and imbalanced nutrition is one of the most significant risk factor for them. The objective of this study was to examine Croatia’s general practitioners’ nutrition counselling practice and determine the factors that influence such practice. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 444 (17.0%) randomly selected general practitioners (GPs) in Croatia from May to July 2013 via a 32-item anonymous questionnaire. Study showed that 77.0% of participants had provided nutrition counselling exclusively to patients with specific health risks; 18.7% participants had provided nutrition counselling for all patients, regardless of their individual risks, while 4.3% had not provide nutrition counselling. As the most significant stimulating factor for implementing nutrition counselling in their daily work with patients, 55.6% of the participants identified personal interest regarding nutrition and the effects it has on health. The latter factor was more frequently emphasized among female general practitioners (p < 0.001) and general practitioners without chronic diseases (p < 0.001). The most significant barrier for nutrition counselling was lack of time (81.6%). It is necessary to make additional efforts to increase the frequency of nutrition counselling provided by general practitioners in Croatia. The majority of Croatian general practitioners could increase their nutrition counselling practice in order to promote balanced nutrition and improve the overall health status of their patients.

Implementation of healthy lifestyle promotion in primary care: patients as coproducers

OBJECTIVES

To explore and theorize how patients perceive, interpret, and reactin healthy lifestyle promotion situations in primary care and to investigate patients' role in implementation of lifestyle promotion illustrated by typologies.

METHODS

Grounded theory was used to assess qualitative interview data from 22 patients with varied experience of healthy lifestyle promotion. Data were analyzed by constant comparative analysis.

RESULTS

A substantive theory of being healthy emerged from the data. The theory highlights the processes that are important for implementation before, during, and after lifestyle promotion. Three interconnected categories emerged from the data: conditions for being healthy, managing being healthy, and interactions about being healthy; these formed the core category: being healthy. A typology proposed four patient trajectories on being healthy: resigned, receivers, coworkers, and leaders.

CONCLUSION

Patients coproduced the implementation of lifestyle promotion through the degree of transparency, which was a result of patients' expectations and situation appraisals.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Different approaches are needed during lifestyle promotion depending on a variety of patient-related factors. The typology could guide practitioners in their lifestyle promotion practice.

The content of diet and physical activity consultations with older adults in primary care

OBJECTIVE

Despite numerous benefits of consuming a healthy diet and receiving regular physical activity, engagement in these behaviors is suboptimal. Since primary care visits are influential in promoting healthy behaviors, we sought to describe whether and how diet and physical activity are discussed during older adults' primary care visits.

METHODS

115 adults aged 65 and older consented to have their routine primary care visits recorded. Audio-recorded visits were transcribed and diet and physical activity content was coded and analyzed.

RESULTS

Diet and physical activity were discussed in the majority of visits. When these discussions occurred, they lasted an average of a minute and a half. Encouragement and broad discussion of benefits of improved diet and physical activity levels were the common type of exchange. Discussions rarely involved patient behavioral self-assessments, patient questions, or providers' recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of patient visits include discussion of diet and physical activity, but these discussions are often brief and rarely include recommendations.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Providers may want to consider ways to expand their lifestyle behavior discussions to increase patient involvement and provide more detailed, actionable recommendations for behavior change. Additionally, given time constraints, a wider array of approaches to lifestyle counseling may be necessary.

Evidence-based risk recommendations for best practices in the training of qualified exercise professionals working with clinical populations

This systematic review examines critically "best practices" in the training of qualified exercise professionals. Particular attention is given to the core competencies and educational requirements needed for working with clinical populations. Relevant information was obtained by a systematic search of 6 electronic databases, cross-referencing, and through the authors' knowledge of the area. The level and grade of the available evidence was established. A total of 52 articles relating to best practices and (or) core competencies in clinical exercise physiology met our eligibility criteria. Overall, current literature supports the need for qualified exercise professionals to possess advanced certification and education in the exercise sciences, particularly when dealing with "at-risk" populations. Current literature also substantiates the safety and effectiveness of exercise physiologist supervised stress testing and training in clinical populations.

Evidence-based risk assessment and recommendations for physical activity clearance: Consensus Document 2011

The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) and the Physical Activity Readiness Medical Evaluation (PARmed-X) are internationally known preparticipation screening tools developed on the basis of expert opinion. The primary purposes of this consensus document were to seek evidence-based support for the PAR-Q and PARmed-X forms, to identify whether further revisions of these instruments are warranted, to determine how people responding positively to questions on the PAR-Q can be safely cleared without medical referral, and to develop exercise clearance procedures appropriate for various clinical conditions across the human lifespan. Seven systematic reviews were conducted, examining physical-activity-related risks and effective risk-stratification procedures for various prevalent chronic conditions. An additional systematic review assessed the risks associated with exercise testing and training of the general population. Two gap areas were identified and evaluated systematically: the role of the qualified exercise professional and the requisite core competencies required by those working with various chronic conditions; and the risks associated with physical activity during pregnancy. The risks associated with being physically inactive are markedly higher than transient risks during and following an acute bout of exercise in both asymptomatic and symptomatic populations across the lifespan. Further refinements of the PAR-Q and the PARmed-X (including online versions of the forms) are required to address the unique limitations imposed by various chronic health conditions, and to allow the inclusion of individuals across their entire lifespan. A probing decision-tree process is proposed to assist in risk stratification and to reduce barriers to physical activity. Qualified exercise professionals will play an essential role in this revised physical activity clearance process.

Standardized Patient Instructor (SPI) interactions are a viable way to teach medical students about health behavior counseling

OBJECTIVES

We explored comfort levels of third-year medical (M3) students through two health behavior counseling (HBC) interactions with Standardized Patient Instructors (SPIs) in tobacco cessation (TCC) and nutrition and physical activity (NPA).

METHODS

Nearly 200 M3s participated in two SPI HBC interactions; including a role-play interview and subsequent feedback session on performance. Students completed a 5-point Likert scale evaluation measuring pre- and post-comfort level on two HBC sessions.

RESULTS

Both interactions resulted in statistically significant increases in student's pre- and post-interaction comfort levels. A paired-sample t-test revealed a mean increase of 0.91 for TCC (t = 14.01, df = 197, p<0.001), and a mean increase of 0.69 for NPA (t = 12.65, df = 198, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The use of SPIs is a viable approach to exposing medical students and future doctors to health behavior counseling, and increasing comfort level with such skills. The SPI experience ensures that HBC opportunities are available and contain meaningful feedback on performance.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Encouraging patient behavior modification is a skill that can be developed during undergraduate medical training. Combining HBC with SPI sessions and traditional learning approaches could prove effective in a curriculum intended to teach students strategies that improve patient health behavior.

An instrument to assess the needs of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus for health-promotion activities

BACKGROUND

Health promotion has become an integral part of primary healthcare for patients with chronic illness. A practical instrument to identify patient needs in health promotion will support patient-centered health counseling.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to develop and pilot test the 'Health Promotion Diabetes' (HEPRODIA) instrument, which aims to identify the needs of patients with diabetes mellitus for health-promoting activities with regard to their preferred lifestyle behavior change.

METHODS

Scale development of the instrument was guided by existing insights and expert opinion. Questionnaire data were collected in a sample of patients (n = 221) from eight primary care practices in the southern part of the Netherlands. The resulting instrument comprised a fixed set of 14 items to elicit patients' preferred lifestyle change, plus a variable set of 4-20 items concerning specific barriers and support needs regarding the chosen change. The instrument provides a starting point for discussion with a practice nurse about healthy lifestyle changes. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and feasibility of the instrument, as well as experiences of the practice nurses using the instrument, were evaluated.

RESULTS

Cronbach's α of the different scales ranged from 0.46 to 0.74. The practice nurses perceived the instrument as useful in daily practice and that it may be improved by further adjustment of patient segments.

CONCLUSION

The HEPRODIA instrument is an aid to assess patient needs concerning health-promoting activities and to facilitate health counseling. Patients and practice nurses can benefit from using the instrument for patient-orientated health-promotion counseling. The psychometric properties of the instrument can be further improved.

Development and implementation of a health behavioral counseling curriculum for physician assistant cancer education

A health behavioral counseling curriculum grounded in Motivational Interviewing and the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change was developed to enhance knowledge and clinical skill among physician assistant (PA) students in managing cancer risk behaviors. A literature and curriculum review informed course content, teaching strategies, and learning activities. The course was evaluated over two pilot years. Students demonstrated increased knowledge and skills regarding the basic principles of the intervention models. The course was integrated into the pre-clinical year of PA training and will be disseminated, beginning with a faculty development workshop for all PA training programs in Texas, USA.

Promoting smoking cessation in pregnancy with Video Doctor plus provider cueing: a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the use of a Video Doctor plus provider cueing to promote provider advice and smoking cessation outcomes in pregnancy.

DESIGN

A randomized clinical trial was conducted from 2006 to 2008.

SETTING

Five community prenatal clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 410 pregnant patients completed screening for behavioral risks including tobacco use in the past 30 days. Pregnant smokers (n = 42) were randomized regardless of their intention to quit smoking.

METHODS

Participants were assigned to either usual care or intervention. Intervention participants received 15-minute Video Doctor sessions plus provider cueing, at baseline and one month, prior to their routine prenatal visit. The Video Doctor delivered interactive tailored messages, an educational worksheet for participants, and a cueing sheet for providers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Receipt of advice from the provider and 30-day smoking abstinence, both by self-report.

RESULTS

Intervention participants were more likely to receive provider advice on tobacco use at both prenatal visits during the intervention period (60.9 vs. 15.8%, p = 0.003). The intervention yielded a significantly greater decrease in the number of days smoked and in cigarettes smoked per day. The 30-day abstinence rate at two months post baseline was 2.5 times greater in the intervention group; the difference was not significant (26.1 vs. 10.5%, p = 0.12).

CONCLUSIONS

The Video Doctor plus provider cueing is an efficacious adjunct to routine prenatal care by promoting provider advice and smoking reduction among pregnant smokers.

Development of an instrument to document the 5A's for smoking cessation

BACKGROUND

The widely recommended 5A's strategy for brief smoking cessation includes five tasks: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. Assessments of the 5A's have been limited to medical-record review and self-report. Using observational data, an instrument to assess the rate at which the 5A's are accomplished was developed.

METHODS

The 5A's Direct Observation Coding scheme (5A-DOC) was developed using published 5A's guidelines and was refined using observed clinician-patient interactions. The development sample consisted of 46 audio-recorded visits of smokers with their physician (n=5), collected in 2000. The 5A-DOC was next applied to a second sample of 131 visits with 28 physicians between 2005 and 2008. Inter-rater reliability was assessed and frequencies reported. Analyses were completed in 2008.

RESULTS

Three observations shaped the development of the 5A-DOC: (1) patients accomplish 5A's tasks; (2) some communication actions accomplish multiple 5A's tasks simultaneously; and (3) sequence is important. Inter-rater agreement for identifying each task was moderate to excellent (kappa=0.58-1.0). When smoking status was established (Ask, n=78), 61% Assessed readiness, and 50% contained Assist. In all, 73% failed to complete the 5A's adequately.

CONCLUSIONS

Accounting for patient activity in smoking-cessation discussions is essential to accurately capture the degree to which the 5A's have been accomplished. The 5A-DOC can be applied to audio or transcript data to reliably assess which of the 5A's tasks have been accomplished. Clinician performance of the 5A's was modest, and findings suggest that clinician training should focus on Assess and the timing of this task, and alignment with patients' reported readiness.