Date of Award

Winter 12-15-2017

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Kristi Frisbee

Second Advisor

Trina Larery

Third Advisor

Mike Carper

Abstract

This project examined how advanced practice nurses (APNs) manage overweight and obesity in primary care. Not only were their general attitudes and beliefs toward overweight and obesity explored, but their beliefs about the treatment and management of obesity were also examined. The APNs’ knowledge and current practice with managing obesity in the primary care setting were evaluated. This project went on to examine the APNs’ awareness and utilization of clinical practice guidelines in managing overweight and obesity. Finally, the study asked about the perceived impact of a website designed to provide guidance managing obesity based on the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American College of Endocrinology’s 2016 guideline.

According to the findings, advance practice nurses are willing to treat overweight and obesity, but feel ill-prepared to do so. Accessibility and consistent utilization of clinical practice guidelines remain problematic. A majority of APNs agreed that improving access to guidelines would improve confidence in their knowledge base and abilities, thus increasing the likelihood of managing obesity in the primary care setting.

Participants were directed to the website http://www.obesitycpg.com to use as a practice resource following the conclusion of the study. During the first two months of being active, the site averaged approximately 239 unique hits per month based on back-end data from Google Analytics. Search engine promotion has never been in effect and the site has not been monetized.

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