2019/03/06 by Rachel Becker Herbst, Amrik Singh Khalsa, Haley Schlottmann +3
Health Professions · Medicine · #Child and Adolescent Health #Obesity and Health Practices #Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
paper · doi:10.1177/0009922819832088
crossref issued 2019/03/06 · crossref published 2019/03/06 · crossref published-online 2019/03/06 · openalex publication_date 2019/03/06 · crossref created 2019/03/07 · crossref published-print 2019/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/28 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Overweight and obese children are at an increased risk of remaining obese. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends addressing healthy habits at well-child checks, but this poses challenges, especially in low-income populations. A clinical innovation project was designed to adapt recommendations in a busy urban clinic and consisted of motivational interviewing, culturally tailored tools, and standardizing documentation. A quasi-experimental design examined innovation outcomes. Of 137 overweight and obese children aged 24 to 66 months, providers' documentation of weight during well-child check visits improved post-innovation ( P < .01), as did development of healthy habits goals ( P < .001). Families were more likely to return for visits post-innovation ( P = .01). A logistic regression analysis showed that adding body mass index to the problem list and establishing a specific follow-up timeframe most predicted follow-up visits to assess progress ( P < .001). Comprehensive innovations consisting of motivational interviewing, implementation of culturally tailored tools, and standardized documentation can enhance engagement in an urban clinic setting.