Date of Award
5-2020
Degree Type
Evidence-Based Project Report
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Natalie J. Eddy
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Flinchum, Rose M., "A Multifactorial Intervention to Reduce Weight Bias in Healthcare Providers" (2020). Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports. 140.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/ebpr/140
R. Flinchum DNP Poster.pdf (433 kB)
Poster
Poster
Included in
Health and Medical Administration Commons, Nursing Administration Commons, Psychology Commons, Sociology Commons
Comments
Weight bias has been demonstrated among a wide-range of healthcare providers (Puhl, 2018a). Bias and the resulting stigma negatively impact those with overweight and obesity, resulting in increased mortality that cannot be explained by weight alone (Sutin et al., 2015). The purpose of this evidence-based project was to determine the effect of a multifactorial intervention to reduce weight bias in healthcare providers. The Stetler Model for Evidence Based Practice was used to guide the project. An extensive review of the literature was performed and a plan for implementation was instituted. Forty-one healthcare providers completed the intervention. A pre/post comparison design was applied, utilizing the Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire (AFAQ). A brief demographic questionnaire and participant evaluation of the intervention were completed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), which was calculated comparing the mean Antifat Attitudes (AFA) scores pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention and two-to-three-months post-intervention. Primary outcome: No significant effect was found (F(2,80) = .209, p > .05). No significant difference exists among pretest (M = 2.24, sd = 1.27), immediate post-intervention (M = 1.92, sd = 1.13) and two-to three- months post-intervention (M =2.17, sd = 1.21) means. Secondary outcome: The average of mean participant satisfaction scores (M = 65.64) was positive. Internal consistency was strong (a =.908) and a strong positive correlation was found among all variables (r(39) = .732-.860, p < .001). Qualitative data reported increased awareness of weight bias in healthcare, identification of personal weight bias and the need for continued weight bias interventions. Despite the non-significant result of the primary outcome, secondary outcomes support the sustainment of interventions to reduce weight bias in health care.