Helping Without Harming: Exploring the Current State of External Child and Adolescent Wellness Programs

There is no standardized approach to care for adolescents referred to clinical wellness programs for the purpose of weight management. This makes the care process for adolescents referred to these programs vulnerable to interventions that cause more harm than the intended benefits of weight management and negatively contributes to broader public health. For these reasons, it is extremely important to use evidence-based approaches that have evaluated the outcomes of clinical practice when caring for adolescents referred to wellness programs.

The objectives of this project were to support the Seattle Children’s Adolescent Medicine Clinic in revising their adolescent wellness program by assessing the current state of weight management approaches in child and adolescent wellness programs across the country and to conduct a literature review to inform recommendations for wellness programming that not only pursues social justice but leads to better long-term health outcomes for adolescents.

Materials Available

• MPH Praticum Poster: Helping Without Harming: Exploring the Current State of External Child and Adolescent Wellness Programs

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Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster

Author(s): Caity Robinson

Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training

Year: 2019