Background: Governmental guidelines recommend health professionals (HPs) from primary, secondary and tertiary settings to manage paediatric obesity. The latest figures suggest care provided in these sectors is mostly ineffective in returning children to a healthy weight. Little research exists around the challenges to managing this patient cohort or what the experience of HP and their clients are in practice. Our research provided qualitative data from HPs in diverse settings to describe their personal experience and perceptions of managing paediatric obesity.
Methods: A sample of 30 Australian-based HPs was recruited from public tertiary paediatric clinics, hospitals, community, and private practice and comprised: 13 dietitians, 5 paediatricians, 2 physiotherapists, 2 exercise physiologists, 2 psychologists, 1 GP, 2 nurses, 1 health promotion officer, 2 clinicians/obesity researchers.
Participants took part in audio-recorded in-depth semi-structured interviews (45 minutes to 2.5 hours) and addressed determinants, barriers to treatment, concerns, and definitions of obesity. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. These interviews were complemented with information from parents of children in the HP’s care.
Results: Participants identified similar determinants of childhood obesity with varying beliefs around the significance of genetics. HPs overwhelmingly believed paediatric obesity management needs to take on a non-stigmatising, family-based approach; ideally within a multidisciplinary team. Reported barriers to treatment differed between those who worked in private practice compared to public settings. The concept of effective management differed greatly between participants. HPs nominate lack of standardised training and difficulty implementing a whole-of-family approach as main barriers to managing this patient cohort.
Conclusion: Current management of paediatric obesity would benefit most from upskilling HPs and from access to multi-disciplinary teams to provide an integrated family approach to address this important health challenge.