Nurses Need More Obesity Training
August 1st 2007
Better training is needed for primary care nurses to help them support obese patients, new research has found. Dr Ian Brown of Sheffield Hallam University, UK, and colleagues investigated obesity management in clinical practice, including nurses’ beliefs and attitudes. Writing in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, they explain that nurses have a key role to play in obesity.
In early 2006, they surveyed 398 nurses from four Primary Care Trusts in the north of England. "Very few" of the nurses had received training in obesity management, the survey found, and most did not believe organisational support was available.
In fact, well-developed support programmes for obese patients were only provided at one in seven GP surgeries, researchers found.
The vast majority (89 per cent) wanted more effective primary care services for obesity, because they perceived obesity advice and support to be part of their role.
Although one in five nurses said they felt awkward or embarrassed talking to patients about obesity, "outright negative stereotypes were rare", say the researchers. But "there were nevertheless a range of potentially negative beliefs and attitudes relating to obesity and obese patients", they add.
Dr Brown commented: "Primary care nurses have an important role when it comes to helping patients to tackle obesity, which can lead to diseases like coronary heart disease and diabetes.
"But they clearly need further training and organisational support to provide the help that obese people need to lose weight, in line with new UK health guidelines."
He concluded that the recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines will lead to new policy and service developments.
Brown, I. et al. Management of obesity in primary care: nurses’ practices, beliefs and attitudes. The Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 59, August 2007, pp. 329-41.
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