Impact of an Integrated Obesity Management System on Patient's Care

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The investigators developed a program aimed at enhancing primary care physician (PCP) teams' expertise, self-efficacy and attitudes with respect to obesity management. The investigators implemented and evaluated this obesity management system based on a preceptorship combined with a virtual learning community favouring continuous support of family medicine groups (FMGs, Groupes de Médecine Familiale) by a team of experts in obesity management; significant improvements regarding their attitudes and perception of self-efficacy were observed immediately after the preceptorship and maintained after one year. Furthermore, the investigators observed significant changes in their practice that were maintained one year later. The investigators hypothesize that their program combining preceptorships with a virtual community will improve: (1) management and weight loss of obese/overweight subjects who are treated by PCPs for hypertension (HTN), type 2 diabetes (DM2) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); and (2) screening and initial management of obesity among unselected patients of PCPs who practice in FMGs.

Official Title
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Impact of an Integrated Obesity Management System on Patient's Care

Conditions
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Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: 2-day preceptorship on obesity management


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Patients who have, during the past 2 years, at least 4 documented visits for the targeted diseases group and at least 2 visits for the regular follow-up group Exclusion Criteria: Active mental health problem Active psychiatric disorder Cancer in the last five years Patient with medication that changed in the last 6 months

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Control<br>No intervention | |
| Experimental: Preceptorships<br>Preceptorships with e-learning | Behavioral: 2-day preceptorship on obesity management<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Among patients from the targeted diseases group, we aim at improving: a)the proportion of subjects who have an initial intervention planned, according to the CCPGO; b)the proportion of subjects who lose at least 5% of their initial weight. |  | 18 months | 
| Among patients from the regular follow-up group, we aim at improving: a)the proportion of patients who have measured weight, BMI and waist circumference and b)the proportion of overweight or obese subjects who have an initial intervention planned. |  | 18 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Among health professionals who receive the intervention (vs. those who did not), we aim at ameliorating their attitudes and perceptions towards patients and treatment effectiveness. |  | 12 months | 
| Among health professionals who receive the intervention (vs. those who did not), we aim at improving their perception of self-efficacy in managing obesity. |  | 12 months | 
| Among health professionals who receive the intervention (vs. those who did not), we aim at increasing their knowledge and expertise on obesity management and changing their practice. |  | 12 months | 
| Among patients who are followed by PCPs who receive the intervention (vs. no intervention), we aim at:a) evaluating their attitudes and perceptions regarding obesity/overweight and lifestyle and b)improving their satisfaction regarding their management. |  | 18 months |