Obesity is a Growing Problem in America
MARY ANN JONES
GCU
Introduction to Nursing Research
NRS-433V
Dodie Serafini
September 08, 2012

Obesity is a Growing Problem in America
Obesity has become a major growing problem in healthcare due to fact that the percentage of obese adults has increased to an alarming 35.7. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.) The medical cost of obese patients in 2008 was estimated at $147 billion which is much higher than people of normal weight. The qualitative study researched for this paper explores obese patient’s experiences, and perceptions of support in primary care. Nurses need to have an understanding of patient’s perceptions and thoughts in order to provide optimal care.
The study researched is called Primary care support for tackling obesity: a qualitative study of the perceptions of obese patients. In nursing it is important to understand the way patients perceive the care or treatment they receive in order for us to maybe make changes in the way we do things. The way patients perceive their primary care will play a role in what they learn and what they will do. It can also make a difference in them obtaining treatment or care. In nursing we need to make sure are meeting the needs of our patients and their perceptions of their care or treatment help us evaluate our effectiveness. The range of the experiences varied, but all participants had experienced some type of intervention or treatment to address their weight issues. The study used a purposive sampling strategy in which they recruiting participants from five different general practices in the area and included a diverse range of experiences and social backgrounds of participants.
Participating general practices used their electronic medical records to identify adult patients (over 18 years) with BMI (body mass index) greater than 30, who were also fully aware of a diagnosis of obesity and well enough to comfortably participate in an interview. Out of 100 potential participants they selected 28 ensuring that they had a variety of ages and gender. All participants were interviewed at home and asked the same questions exploring the type of experiences and perspectives of participants. They were all audio recorded and the interview was later transcribed by a data analysis team. (The British Journal of General Practice [BJGP], 2006)
References

The results findings show, that except where they have received intensive ongoing support, that these patients are typically ambivalent for reasons that are complex. Part of the complex picture is the perceptions that participants had of lack resources, insensitivity, and rushed or ambiguous communication. But these factors are also affected by the patients' own thoughts and feelings about their personal responsibility, sense of stigma and expectation of negative stereotypes. (The British Journal of General Practice [BJGP], 2006) This study is an example of the how emotions and human variability are a big factor in a qualitative study. In the nursing profession our practices are driven by applied science but we also have to understand human emotions and coping.
The results in this study was affected by the patients’ own thoughts and feelings about obesity which is important as nurses that we need to assess our patient’s readiness to learn, readiness to change, and their personal feelings about it obesity. The patient’s feelings about obesity can affect the way they perceive what we are teaching them or distort what we are saying to them. This is why it is important to assess patient’s emotional status to gain an understanding on how they feel about their personal health problems and we can use this assessment to guide us on which teaching method to use.
This study had ethical approval from the North Sheffield Research Ethics Committee and protected patient’s privacy. This was a sensitive and personal subject for the participants to talk about but it was done in private setting and their identity was protected. This study was approved by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). This study gives understanding as to why patient’s perception plays a role in why patients may choose not to get treatment for obesity which leads to many other health conditions. As nurses we need to be sensitive to patient’s feelings to ensure that we are giving effective care and so that we are not made part of the stigma of negative stereotypes associated with obesity. Nurses are constantly working on improving patient care and studies like this one help us gain an understanding of what patients may need on an emotional level.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
The British Journal of General Practice. (2006). Primary care support for tackling obesity: a qualitative study of the perceptions of obese patients (PMC1876632). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.