Identification and Assessment of Overweight, Obesity and Hypertension in School Based Health Centers
Start Date
5-19-2012 2:00 PM
End Date
5-19-2012 2:15 PM
Description
Given the number of adolescents who are overweight and the associated co-morbidities, Christiana Care School Based Health Centers (SBHC) embarked on a performance improvement project. The goal of the project was to increase the consistency of incorporating the calculation of BMI and obtaining blood pressures on students who seek medical care to identify, treat and appropriately refer overweight students as well as those with hypertension and pre-hypertension.
An interdisciplinary team of SBHC staff consisting of nurse practitioners (NP), social workers (SW), registered dietitians (RD), the administrative director, and medical director designed and implemented the project. A letter and information sheet was developed for students and parents giving them feedback on the status of their BMI, blood pressure and facts on hypertension and obesity. An algorithm was developed to refer students who were overweight, or had abnormal BP to the centers’ dietitian, center nurse practitioners and / or primary care physicians (PCPs). A letter was also developed for PCPs explaining the purpose of the project and providing a brief review of the recommendations for further evaluation. Providers were trained in motivational interviewing techniques to better counsel students about their BMI and BP. A data base was created to collect the data.
Over 4000 students were screened in a three year period. Forty three students were followed from year one to year three.
As a result of the project, there has been an increase in the number of students referred to the dietitian and to their PCPs. We were able to incorporate into our care a systematic approach to identify students with an elevated BMI and / or blood pressure and refer them for additional care. This project demonstrates an effective interprofessional team approach to patient care.
Learning Objectives:
1. The learner will be able to identify a system to improve the measurement of BMI and blood pressure.
2. The learner will be able to describe an example of an interprofessional team approach to patient care.
Identification and Assessment of Overweight, Obesity and Hypertension in School Based Health Centers
Given the number of adolescents who are overweight and the associated co-morbidities, Christiana Care School Based Health Centers (SBHC) embarked on a performance improvement project. The goal of the project was to increase the consistency of incorporating the calculation of BMI and obtaining blood pressures on students who seek medical care to identify, treat and appropriately refer overweight students as well as those with hypertension and pre-hypertension.
An interdisciplinary team of SBHC staff consisting of nurse practitioners (NP), social workers (SW), registered dietitians (RD), the administrative director, and medical director designed and implemented the project. A letter and information sheet was developed for students and parents giving them feedback on the status of their BMI, blood pressure and facts on hypertension and obesity. An algorithm was developed to refer students who were overweight, or had abnormal BP to the centers’ dietitian, center nurse practitioners and / or primary care physicians (PCPs). A letter was also developed for PCPs explaining the purpose of the project and providing a brief review of the recommendations for further evaluation. Providers were trained in motivational interviewing techniques to better counsel students about their BMI and BP. A data base was created to collect the data.
Over 4000 students were screened in a three year period. Forty three students were followed from year one to year three.
As a result of the project, there has been an increase in the number of students referred to the dietitian and to their PCPs. We were able to incorporate into our care a systematic approach to identify students with an elevated BMI and / or blood pressure and refer them for additional care. This project demonstrates an effective interprofessional team approach to patient care.
Learning Objectives:
1. The learner will be able to identify a system to improve the measurement of BMI and blood pressure.
2. The learner will be able to describe an example of an interprofessional team approach to patient care.
