Altering the perceptions of WIC health professionals about childhood obesity using video with facilitated group discussion

Abstract

Objective: To determine if viewing a documentary video, followed by facilitated group discussion, could alter the perceptions of those providing public health nutrition services about the barriers and solutions to addressing the problem of obesity in low-income preschoolers.

Design: Before-after trial to determine how often study participants could identify any of the 17 barriers and seven solutions targeted in the video and during the facilitated group discussion.

Subjects/setting: One hundred fifty-five attendees of the 2001 Kentucky Maternal and Child Health Conference participated in the study. Sixty percent were nurses, 24% were dietitians or nutritionists, and 64% had Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) counseling experience.

Intervention: Participants first viewed a 20-minute documentary video about three families enrolled in WIC. A 40-minute facilitated group discussion followed to highlight the 17 barriers (eg, WIC families are struggling with many demands in their lives that make nutrition a low priority and WIC health professionals "lecture" clients on what they "need to know") and seven solutions (eg, adjusting WIC counseling to assess parenting skills and to increase sensitivity to clients' life context and stresses). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/ANALYSES: Participants responded before and after the intervention to the same two open-ended questions, one about barriers and one about solutions. Participant responses were coded to count instances of identifying any of the 17 barriers and seven solutions.

Results: At baseline, 51% of participants were unable to record any of the barriers, and 91% could not identify any of the solutions. After the intervention, 37% could identify at least one more of the target barriers than they did at baseline, and 24% could identify at least one more of the target solutions.

Conclusions: A documentary-style video, used with facilitated group discussion, can produce a short-term change in the perceptions of those providing public health nutrition services about addressing the problem of obesity in low-income preschool children.