Motivational Interviewing for Health Care Change: Implementing Clinical Guidelines in the Treatment of Obesity

As the obesity epidemic continues to escalate in this country and with it the increased risk of chronic conditions and the ever-increasing expense those conditions impose upon our healthcare system, evidence-based interventions delivered by providers becomes increasingly imperative. Research shows us that the key to the success of any anti-obesity interventions are strategies that include tools for overcoming barriers to compliance and help to provide cognitive restructuring. Motivational interviewing (MI) has been shown to be such a tool - an effective tool for reducing resistance and ambivalence to change and for improving an individual's health behaviors. Given the research, clinical guidelines recommend that motivational interviewing be integrated into the protocol for providers communicating with patients about weight loss and behavioral change. Objectives of this project include:  Identify current primary care interventions and guidelines for the prevention, assessment, and treatment of obesity in the primary care setting.  Introduce evidence-based obesity treatment guidelines and interventions for clinical practice to medical weight loss program personnel.  Provide educational tools, training, and materials for the implementation of motivational interviewing techniques into the provider's medical weight loss protocol.  Assess weight loss program personnel's knowledge and understanding of evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of obesity and their familiarity with motivational interviewing, its techniques, and its role in successful health behavior change; pre and post educational workshop.  Improve clinician's self-efficacy and communication skills in the context of obesity treatment.  Improve client care and success in the medical weight loss program. Weight loss program staff and practitioners have an obligatory role in the approach and treatment of obesity to ensure successful outcomes by educating and training weight loss staff and providers on evidence-based guidelines and the effective behavior change tool of motivational interviewing at an independent clinic. This project aims to address the public health concern of obesity., implement evidence-based guidelines into provider's weight loss protocol, and improve client care and outcomes in the clinic's weight loss program.