Dataset Information

Weight management in Canada: an environmental scan of health services for adults with obesity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Obesity in Canada is a growing concern, but little is known about the available services for managing obesity in adults. Our objectives were to (a) survey and describe programs dedicated to weight management and (b) evaluate program adherence to established recommendations for care.

Methods

We conducted an online environmental scan in 2011 to identify adult weight management services throughout Canada. We examined the degree to which programs adhered to the 2006 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children (CCPGO) and the analysis criteria developed by the Association pour la Santé Publique du Québec (ASPQ).

Results

A total of 83 non-surgical (34 community-based, 42 primary care-based, 7 hospital-based) and 33 surgical programs were identified. All programs encouraged patient self-management. However, few non-surgical programs adhered to the CCPGO recommendations for assessment and intervention, and there was a general lack of screening for eating disorders, depression and other psychiatric diseases across all programs. Concordance with the ASPQ criteria was best among primary care-based programs, but less common in other settings with deficits most frequently revealed in multidisciplinary health assessment/management and physical activity counselling.

Conclusions

With more than 60% of Canadians overweight or obese, our findings highlight that availability of weight management services is far outstripped by need. Our observation that evidence-based recommendations are applied inconsistently across the country validates the need for knowledge translation of effective health services for managing obesity in adults.

SUBMITTER: Rosa Fortin MM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3927222 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Weight management in Canada: an environmental scan of health services for adults with obesity.

Rosa Fortin Marie-Michèle MM Brown Christine C Ball Geoff D C GD Chanoine Jean-Pierre JP Langlois Marie-France MF

BMC health services research 20140212

<h4>Background</h4>Obesity in Canada is a growing concern, but little is known about the available services for managing obesity in adults. Our objectives were to (a) survey and describe programs dedicated to weight management and (b) evaluate program adherence to established recommendations for care.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted an online environmental scan in 2011 to identify adult weight management services throughout Canada. We examined the degree to which programs adhered to the 2006 Canadia ...[more]

PMID: 24521300

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Excessive wait times for specialist care pose a serious concern for many patients, leading to duplication of tests, patient anxiety, and poorer health outcomes. In response to this issue, many health care systems have begun implementing technological innovations designed to improve the referral-consultation process. Among these services is electronic consultation (eConsult), which connects primary care providers and specialists through a secure platform to facilitate discussion of patients' care. OBJECTIVE:This study aims to examine different eConsult services available worldwide and compare the strategies, barriers, and successes of their implementation in different health care contexts. METHODS:We conducted an environmental scan comprising 3 stages as follows: literature review; gray literature search; and targeted, semistructured key informant interviews. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (literature review) and Google (gray literature search). Upon completing the search, we generated a list of potential interview candidates from among the stakeholders identified. Potential participants included researchers, physicians, and decision makers. The maximum variation sampling was used to ensure sufficient breadth of participant experience. In addition, we conducted semistructured interviews by telephone using an interview guide based on the RE-AIM framework. Analyses of transcripts were conducted using a thematic synthesis approach. RESULTS:A total of 53 services emerged from the published and gray literature. Respondents from 10 services participated in telephonic interviews. The following 4 major themes emerged from the analysis: service structure; benefits of eConsult; implementation challenges; and implementation enablers. CONCLUSIONS:eConsult services have emerged in a variety of countries and health system contexts worldwide. Despite differences in structure, platform, and delivery of their services, respondents described similar barriers and enablers to the implementation and growth and reported improved access and high levels of satisfaction.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:The environmental scan has been described as an important tool to inform decision-making on policy, planning and programme development in the healthcare sector. Despite the wide adoption of environmental scans, there is no consensus on a working definition within the health services delivery context and methodological guidance on the design and implementation of this approach is lacking in the literature. The objectives of this study are to map the extent, range and nature of evidence that describe the definitions, characteristics, conceptualisations, theoretical underpinnings, study limitations and other features of the environmental scan in the health services delivery literature and to propose a working definition specific to this context. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:This protocol describes a scoping review based on the methodology outlined by Khalil and colleagues. A comprehensive search strategy was developed by experienced health science librarians in consultation with the research team. A Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) was completed. Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts and full-text articles and select studies meeting the inclusion criteria from seven electronic databases: Academic Search Premier, Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA), CINAHL, ERIC, Embase, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. The grey literature and reference lists of included articles will also be searched. The data will be analysed and presented in tabular format, and will include a descriptive numerical summary as well as a qualitative thematic analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:This protocol provides an audit trail for a scoping review that will advance understanding about the environmental scan and its application in the health services delivery context. The review will propose a working definition and will inform future research to explore the development of a conceptual framework in this context. Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentations. The scoping review does not require ethics approval.

Project description:BackgroundMany countries are currently rethinking their global health research funding priorities. When resources are limited, it is important to understand and use information about existing research strengths to inform research strategies and investments and to drive impact. This study describes a method to rapidly assess a country's global health research expertise and applies this method in the Canadian context.MethodsWe developed a three-pronged rapid environmental scan to evaluate Canadian global health research expertise that focused on research funding inputs, research activities and research outputs. We assessed research funding inputs from Canada's national health research funding agency and identified the 30 Canadian universities that received the most global health research funding. We systematically searched university websites and secondary databases to identify research activities, including research centres, research chairs and research training programmes. To evaluate research outputs, we searched PubMed to identify global health research publications by Canadian university-affiliated researchers. We used these three perspectives to develop a more nuanced understanding of Canadian strengths in global health research from different perspectives.ResultsCanada's main global health research funder, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, invested a total of $314 M from 2000 to 2016 on global health research grants. This investment has contributed to Canada's wealth of global health research expertise, including 12 training programmes, 27 Canada Research Chairs, 6 research centres and 30 WHO Collaborating Centres across 27 universities. Research activities were concentrated in Canada's biggest cities and most commonly focused on health equity and globalisation issues. Canadian-affiliated researchers have contributed to a research output of 822 unique publications on PubMed. There is an opportunity to build global health expertise in regions not already concentrated with research activity, focusing on transnational risks and neglected conditions research.ConclusionsOur three-pronged approach allowed us to rapidly identify clear geographic and substantive areas of strength in Canadian global health research, including urban regions and research focused on health equity and globalisation topics. This information can be used to support research policy directives, including to inform a Canadian global health research strategy, and to allow relevant academic institutions and funding organisations to make more strategic decisions regarding their future investments.

Dataset Information

Weight management in Canada: an environmental scan of health services for adults with obesity.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Weight management in Canada: an environmental scan of health services for adults with obesity.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure