Quality Project for Weight Management

Overweight and obesity are a constant problem among patients seen at the project site. There was no guideline to provide a framework to manage overweight and obese patients at the project site. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and The Obesity Society (AHA/ACC/TOS) Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults would impact weight, body mass index (BMI), and obesity risk knowledge among adults with BMI greater than 25 kg/m2. The project was completed over four weeks in a primary

care clinic in central California. Imogene King’s theory of goal attainment and Hochbaum and Rosenstock’s health belief model were the theoretical frameworks used for the project. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Tool 2 chart audit form and Obesity Risk Knowledge-10 were used to collect data among the sample of 28 patients. A paired t-test revealed a clinical and statistically significant change in patient weight (t (27) = 4.01, p=.000); BMI (t(27)=3.44, p=.002); and obesity risk knowledge score (t(21)= -26.95, p=.000). Therefore, implementing the AHA/ACC/TOS Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults may improve weight, BMI, and knowledge in this population and setting. Recommendations include sustaining the project and dissemination of the results.