Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Apr 1;43(2):104-108.
doi: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000445. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Using Administrative Data in Primary Care to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Continuing Professional Development Program Focused on the Management of Patients Living With Obesity

Boris Zevin  1 , Rachael Morkem, Eleftherios Soleas, Nancy Dalgarno, David Barber
Affiliations

Using Administrative Data in Primary Care to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Continuing Professional Development Program Focused on the Management of Patients Living With Obesity

Boris Zevin et al. J Contin Educ Health Prof. .

Abstract

Introduction: There are guidelines for referral to medical and/or surgical weight loss interventions (MSWLI) in Ontario; however, only about one-third of eligible patients in our region are being referred for consideration of MSWLI.

Methods: A planning committee, including a registered dietician, psychiatrist, endocrinologist, bariatric surgeon, family physician, and educationalists, developed an interdisciplinary continuing professional development (CPD) program focused on practical approaches to the management of patients living with obesity. The Kirkpatrick model was used to evaluate the educational outcomes of the CPD program specifically focusing on Level-2, -3, and -4 outcomes based on self-reported questionnaire and health administrative data.

Results: Eighteen primary care providers from the CPD program agreed to participate in this study, and 16 primary care providers (89%) completed the postintervention questionnaire and granted us access to their MSWLI referral data; 94% of study participants reported changes to their knowledge, comfort, and confidence (Level 2), as well as expected change in their future behaviour (Level 3) following the CPD program. However, there was no change in Kirkpatrick Level-4 outcomes, despite more than 90% of participants indicating that they will be making changes to their practice after the program.

Discussion: The CPD program in our study was overwhelmingly well received and participants reported knowledge (Level 2) and behavioural (Level 3) changes following participation; however, there was no detectable change in their clinical practice (Level 4). The methodology described in our proof-of-concept study can be modified and adopted to evaluate Level-4 outcomes in other studies of effectiveness of CPD interventions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures: The authors would like to disclose that the evaluated CPD program received an unstructured educational grant from Medtronic Canada. The grant was overseen by an independent scientific planning committee including the authors of this grant and was peer reviewed by independent members of the health care community. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Barber D, Morkem R, Dalgarno N, et al. Patients eligible and referred for bariatric surgery in southeastern Ontario. Can Fam Physician. 2021;67:E31–E40.
    1. Zevin B, Dalgarno N, Martin M, et al. Barriers to accessing weight-loss interventions for patients with class II or III obesity in primary care: a qualitative study. CMAJ Open. 2019;7:E738–E744.
    1. Campbell-Scherer DL, Asselin J, Osunlana AM, et al. Changing provider behaviour to increase nurse visits for obesity in family practice: the 5As Team randomized controlled trial. CMAJ Open. 2019;7:E371–E378.
    1. Velazquez A, Robinson KJH, Frederick JL, et al. Development and outcomes of an immersive obesity summit workshop for medical resident and fellow education. Clin Obes. 2019;9:e12315.
    1. Mastrocola MR, Roque SS, Benning LV, et al. Obesity education in medical schools, residencies, and fellowships throughout the world: a systematic review. Int J Obes (Lond). 2020;44:269–279.

LinkOut - more resources