Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Barry G. Zallen, MD, FAAP¹, Charles J. Homer, MD, MPH, CEO², Sylvia Stevens-Edouard, MS³, Patricia Heinrich, RN, MSN², and Karen A. Spiller⁴. (1) Provider Partnerships, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, 617 246-4931, barry.zallen@bcbsma.com, (2) National Initiattive of Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), 20 University Road, 7th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, (3) Community Relations, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, (4) Community Relations, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215

Background: Jump Up & Go!, a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts nutrition and physical activity program and the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) developed HCHK to establish evidence-based protocols for pediatric and family practitioners to use as a standard model of care. Additional guidance was provided by a national expert panel and a Massachusetts-based advisory board. Methods: Adapting the NICHQ Learning Collaborative approach, 18 Massachusetts-based pediatric practices and community health centers were recruited to implement and test evidence-based clinical approaches and tools for preventing, identifying and treating overweight children. HCHK began with a core set of tools that were developed by Jump Up & Go!, specifically The Clinician Toolkit and the 5-2-1 Message (Each day eat at least five fruits or vegetables, limit screen time to two hours, and participate in at least one hour of physical activity). Additional tools were created and evaluated throughout the project. We will discuss the evaluation of the standard model of care, as well as BCBSMA plans for disseminating the model to physicians in Massachusetts. Conclusions: HCHK was successful in developing a standard model of care for the prevention and identification of overweight children in pediatric and family practices. The model can be successfully implemented in the annual well-child visit and offers a first step in the treatment of overweight children.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will

• Understand the development and evaluation of a protocol that pediatricians can use to identify, prevent and intervene in childhood overweight.
• Gain tools that have been tested and evaluated, to integrate the protocol into a pediatric practice.

Keywords: Pediatrics, Obesity

Related Web page: www.bcbsma.com

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No