Primary care physician's perspectives on solutions for improving obesity care, overall and by years since completing medical school, N (%)
| Years since completing medical school | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall N=313 | <20 N=161 | 20+N=152 | p Value | ||
| Physician training to improve obesity care | |||||
| Helpfulness of physician training in…* | |||||
| Nutrition counselling | 290 (93) | 156 (97) | 134 (88) | 0.04 | |
| Exercise counseling | 290 (92) | 154 (96) | 135 (89) | 0.09 | |
| Patient care after bariatric surgery | 282 (90) | 144 (89) | 137 (90) | 0.81 | |
| Motivational interviewing | 270 (86) | 143 (88) | 127 (84) | 0.37 | |
| Patient eligibility for bariatric surgery | 266 (85) | 136 (84) | 130 (85) | 0.88 | |
| Weight loss medications | 202 (64) | 110 (68) | 92 (60) | 0.24 | |
| N=500 | N=277 | N=223 | |||
| Practice-based changes to improve obesity care | |||||
| Helpfulness of… | |||||
| Including BMI as a fifth vital sign | 466 (93) | 256 (92) | 210 (95) | 0.32 | |
| Including specific diet or exercise tips in patient chart | 446 (89) | 250 (90) | 196 (88) | 0.53 | |
| Having scales report BMI | 423 (85) | 224 (81) | 198 (89) | 0.02 | |
| Adding BMI to patient chart† | 344 (69) | 193 (69) | 151 (68) | 0.70 | |
| Medical equipment in office is appropriate for obese patients (eg, gowns, chairs, exam tables and blood pressure cuffs)‡ | 460 (92) | 253 (91) | 207 (93) | 0.53 | |
Source: Survey of General Practitioners, Family Practitioners and General Internists between 9 February and 1 March 2011.
*Questions about the helpfulness of various forms of obesity training were only asked among those physicians who reported receiving some training. Percentages represent physicians reporting training is very or somewhat helpful.
†20% of the sample (100 respondents) reported that this feature is already available in the medical chart.
‡Percentages represent physicians reporting very/somewhat appropriate.
Note: The 8% of physicians who said that medical equipment for obese patients was not appropriate were also asked to rate how important it was to improve the equipment. More than 85% of these physicians said this was an important goal for gowns, chairs, exam tables and blood pressure cuffs.
BMI, body mass index.