Placing a Stethoscope on the Heart of the Community: Integrating Community/Consumer Dialogue into the Development of an Obesity Prevention Continuing Medical Education (CME) Toolkit

Quality influences health outcomes by measures relating to quality of care delivered, access to acute and preventives services, quality of the provider-client interaction (patient-centeredness), safety, cultural health beliefs, and experiences with healthcare. Patient-centered care incorporates the client's perspective and fosters empowerment to improve client satisfaction and health.

The intransigence of obesity requires multiple strategies, including the integration of the consumer/client perspective. The development of this continuing medical education (CME )toolkit integrates the community/consumer perspective from focus group data with provider needs assessments, and evidence-based practice.

Methodology: Two local CME provider preference surveys were administered to assess general and obesity-related needs. Ninety-nine providers completed the first survey and 55 Pediatricians completed the second .Four focus groups (9-10 participants),comprised of two parent groups, one child/adolescent group, and one young adult group were conducted. Participants were queried about components of quality and poor provider-patient encounters and preferred patient education materials.

Results: The CME preference surveys allowed comparison with national and community data sets. The focus groups uncovered themes, which were consistent with patient centered care and use of motivational interviewing as a preferred counseling strategy. Next, a framework to support the provider's need for convenience and evidence –based guidelines was infuse d with elements of the consumer's need for respect, shared decision-making , and practical information. The CD-ROM/Internet accessible toolkit combines evidence-based practice guidelines and thematic information from the focus groups into didactic, tutorial and skill demonstration components.