Interprofessional Collaboration in Treating Obesity

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Table of Contents

Introduction
General Trends
Epidemiology
Interventions
Interprofessional Collaboration
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Obesity is a widespread chronic disease that continues to rise in the United States and other countries with poorly established dietary patterns that are part of traditional culture. The tendency to devote oneself to work, career, and other achievements and to ignore one’s own needs, including health needs, leads to the fact that more than 40% of American adults are obese (“Adult obesity facts,” 2022). This paper aims to discuss the topic of adult obesity in the US and the potential of interprofessional cooperation in its treatment.

General Trends

Fighting obesity can be extremely simple and effective if patients follow their doctor’s advice regarding changes in lifestyle and eating habits. Neglect of a healthy lifestyle, that is, exercise in the fresh air and a healthy diet are the main causes of obesity. This disease, due to its prevalence, creates a fantastic burden on the quality of life of American families and the national economy (“About overweight and obesity,” 2022). More importantly, obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and heart disease.

Epidemiology

Obesity is a problem that is widespread among the adult population of the United States and is almost evenly distributed among different age groups. According to CDC data, “the obesity prevalence was 39.8% among adults aged 20 to 39 years, 44.3% among adults aged 40 to 59 years, and 41.5% among adults aged 60 and older” (“Adult obesity facts,” 2022, para. 5). Noteworthy, over the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in the country has increased from 30.5% to 41.9% (“Adult obesity facts,” 2022, para. 6). Medical expenses amounted to more than 173 billion dollars in 2019, which in terms of 1 adult was 1,861 dollars per year (“Adult obesity facts,” 2022, para. 7). In other words, treating obesity is an urgent need to maintain the general health of citizens and prevent more serious complications.

Interventions

Treatment of obesity takes place according to established procedures prescribed in clinical management guidelines. These procedures take into account criteria such as awareness and education of the patient about the new habits, assessment of the patient’s condition by measuring data and history, and the effectiveness of the intervention in the form of a measure of weight loss. Procedures must be versatile and lead to results, for which criteria are introduced. Interventions can be performed by a single doctor or a team of doctors working together for a common goal.

Scientists offer different types of obesity clinical management, which usually have common features. Wharton et al. (2020) note that the intervention should be carried out in 5 steps, described below. First, a medical professional must recognize obesity as a clinical disease (step 1). The individual is then assessed, including symptoms, and the causes of the disease and potential barriers to treatment are identified (step 2). Next, the medical worker discusses with the patient the main treatment options and additional methods (step 3). Importantly, the types of intervention can be behavioral, psychological, pharmacological, and surgical.

Then the health worker agrees with the patient about the goals of the therapy, explaining the value of the intervention (step 4). Finally, the patient should be reassessed for treatment and follow-up and encouraged to continue treatment for obesity, which is a chronic disease (step 5). In this way, health care providers organize a work process that makes it possible to address the disease on different levels and cure it. At the stage of discussion of types of treatment, the medical practitioner can offer behavioral interventions related to a strategy of healthy eating, physical activity, or a strategy of preparation for surgery.

Interprofessional Collaboration

Scientists offer special programs that include a collaborative intervention with the participation of a nurse practitioner, a doctor of medicine, and a nutritionist. Importantly, scientists proved the effectiveness of such an approach, while study participants lost, on average, 8.1 pounds weight more than those who received treatment from a single professional (Nagelkerk et al., 2018, p. 47). There are many options for interprofessional cooperation, when specialists work in a team, complementing and strengthening each other’s knowledge and skills.

For example, nurse practitioners can share with other team members specific step-by-step procedures and work rules that they apply to patients. At the same time, nutritionists can include their recommendations within the general plan proposed by the nurse, which will be more effectively implemented if the original nursing theories of treatment management are applied (Pascucci et al., 2021). A Doctor of Medicine, in turn, can provide important advice on the biological and chemical properties of certain foods in combination with exercise, in the world of the latest research and approaches.

The dietician is an important member of the team, as he forms a list of products and a meal plan for the patient, who must strictly follow these recommendations. The nutritionist and nurse can develop joint recommendations for physical activity that will consider the patient’s general health and physical potential. Equally important, the Doctor of Medicine can conduct the most effective monitoring of the treatment process and the patient’s implementation of the recommendations and provide a professional evaluation of the results with revision of intervention strategies in case of low effectiveness.

Conclusion

Thus, the topic of adult obesity in the US and the potential of interprofessional cooperation in its treatment were discussed. Obesity is a dangerous chronic illness that may cause complications and significantly worsens the quality of life. Treatment of obesity is a complex process, and teams of health professionals may be involved in the provision of services. The joint work of teams is the key to higher efficiency and speed of disease treatment and therefore should be used as the main method of obesity treatment in medical institutions.

References

About overweight and obesity. (2022). CDC. Web.

Adult obesity facts. (2022). CDC. Web.

Nagelkerk, J., Benkert, R., Pawl, B., Myers, A., Baer, L. J., Rayford, A., & Jakstys, C. (2018). Test of an interprofessional collaborative practice model to improve obesity-related health outcomes in Michigan. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 11, 43-50.

Pascucci, D., Sassano, M., Nurchis, M. C., Cicconi, M., Acampora, A., Park, D., & Damiani, G. (2021). Impact of interprofessional collaboration on chronic disease management: findings from a systematic review of clinical trial and meta-analysis. Health Policy, 125(2), 191-202. Web.

Wharton, S. et al. (2020). Obesity in adults: a clinical practice guideline. Cmaj, 192(31), 875-891. Web.

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