Research & Practice
Starting the Conversation: Exploring Dietitians’ Attitudes and Perspectives of Weight-Related Interventions in a Pediatric Health Care System
Registered dietitians (RD) play a major role in weight-related interventions and have varying perspectives and approaches. Patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) are often engaged in different departments where they may receive contradictory recommendations and information leading to confusion, frustration, and distrust in their healthcare team. We aimed to deliver interviews to interdepartmental RDs at SCH to understand the spectrum of approaches for weight-related interventions and identify the barriers that impact effective and quality care of patients seeking nutrition services for weight management.
Semi-structured interviews were held with 13 SCH RDs with experience in 14 SCH clinics. The interviews were transcribed and coded to determine common themes. Among the RDs interviewed, motivational interviewing was a commonly reported approach used. RDs also reported that they focused more on health-promoting behavior change rather than weight loss as a goal. Many of the reported barriers to care contributed to follow-up frequency, which the RDs agreed was vital for sustained behavior change.
Materials Available
Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster
Author(s): Casey McCoy
Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training
Year: 2019
Adviser(s):