Effect of an educational event and 'Quick Reference Guide' on nurse practitioner's practice patterns for weight management of children: A pilot study

Childhood obesity is a rapidly growing health epidemic in the United States. Despite increasing attention, research has shown many primary healthcare providers fail to address the healthcare problem in their practice. Primary care Nurse Practitioners are in an opportune setting to identify, diagnose and treat overweight and obese children. Barriers to identification, diagnosis and treatment have been identified as time, knowledge, and fear that parents and children will have adverse responses. This DNP Capstone project evaluated the Nurse Practitioner's knowledge of childhood overweight and obesity and the practice patterns of nurse practitioners in Midwest practice settings who were providing healthcare to children aged 2 years to 19 years. Practice patterns were assessed, using a self-reporting chart audit tool prior to and after the presentation of an Educational Event and Quick Reference Guide. Differences in practice patterns were determined by comparing the identification of age, gender, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), CDC-normative BMI percentage for age and gender, ICD-9 diagnosis, and treatment. Findings are used to inform future studies of nurse practitioner practice patterns and health care diagnosis and treatment of overweight and obesity in children.