AbstractsMedical & Health Science

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995 described obesity as a chronic disease and one of the most important public health threats and in 2000 reported obesity as a global epidemic. The numbers of obese children are increasing in society; moreover, the onset of obesity is occurring at even a younger age than in the past. The prevalence of pediatric obesity is staggering and interventions need to be developed to decrease the risk for chronic and related psychological diseases. The objective of this project was to provide education on utilization of a tool kit to increase the nurse practitioner (NP) participants' knowledge base in regards to pediatric obesity prevention, recognition, and treatment. As the pre-intervention, a questionnaire was distributed to the participants to measure their knowledge of childhood obesity. The participants utilized a tool kit in their clinical practice for a two-month period. At the end of the intervention the Project Director met with the participants and distributed the same questionnaire to determine if participant knowledge, skills and perceptions changed after adopting the tool kit principles into their practice. Data analysis was completed utilizing an analysis of both the mode and median for each question to determine whether or not there was a change in the pre and post-intervention responses. An analysis of pre and post-frequency distributions was completed to determine the direction and extent of that change. Statistical significance of each change was tested utilizing the Mann-Whitney U-Test. Mode, median, and statistical significance were calculated utilizing Excel. Post-intervention participants reported that children would not outgrow overweight, and identified that a significant barrier to pediatric obesity treatment was not the patient, but lack of preparation on the part of NPs. The results supported that increased knowledge did translate into improved treatment practices in the ambulatory care setting. As more NPs are prepared to recognize, prevent, and treat pediatric obesity, the health of our children will improve significantly.