An obesity educational intervention for medical students addressing weight bias and communication skills using standardized patients

• Published in: BMC medical education 2014-03, Vol.14 (1), p.53-53, Article 53
• Main Authors: Kushner, Robert F, Zeiss, Dinah M, Feinglass, Joseph M, Yelen, Marsha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitudes; Behavioral Objectives; Chicago; Communication; Counseling; Education, Medical, Undergraduate; Educational aspects; Empathy; Feedback; Female; Formative evaluation; Health aspects; Humans; Intervention; Learning; Male; Medical colleges; Medical education; Medical research; Medical Schools; Medical students; Medicine; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Obesity; Overweight; Patient Simulation; Patients; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians; Prejudice; Role playing; Social aspects; Stereotyping; Stigma; Student Attitudes; Students, Medical; Surveys and Questionnaires; Systematic review; Training; Undergraduate Study; Weight control
• ISSN: 1472-6920; 1472-6920
• DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-14-53

In order to manage the increasing worldwide problem of obesity, medical students will need to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to assess and counsel patients with obesity. Few educational intervention studies have been conducted with medical students addressing stigma and communication skills with patients who are overweight or obese. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in students' attitudes and beliefs about obesity, and their confidence in communication skills after a structured educational intervention that included a clinical encounter with an overweight standardized patient (SP). First year medical students (n = 127, 47% female) enrolled in a communications unit were instructed to discuss the SPs' overweight status and probe about their perceptions of being overweight during an 8 minute encounter. Prior to the session, students were asked to read two articles on communication and stigma as background information. Reflections on the readings and their performance with the SP were conducted prior to and after the encounter when students met in small groups. A newly constructed 16 item questionnaire was completed before, immediately after and one year after the session. Scale analysis was performed based on a priori classification of item intent. Three scales emerged from the questionnaire: negative obesity stereotyping (7 items), empathy (3 items), and counseling confidence (3 items). There were small but significant immediate post-intervention improvements in stereotyping (p = .002) and empathy (p