The Massachusetts BMI letter: A qualitative study of responses from parents of obese children

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• 作者：Lindsay J. Moyer ; Elena T. Carbone ; Jean A. Anliker ; Sarah L. Goff
• 关键词：Body mass index screening ; BMI ; Patient&ndash ; provider communication ; Health literacy ; Weight communication
• 刊名：Patient Education and Counseling
• 出版年：February, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：94
• 期：2
• 页码：210-217
• 全文大小：783 K

文摘

Objectives

Massachusetts (MA) public schools conduct mandated body-mass index (BMI) screening and until recently, communicated results in a letter to parents/caregivers, to encourage primary care visits and provide aggregate data to the state Department of Public Health. This study assessed the letter's readability and qualitatively explored parents鈥?responses to it.

Methods

Readability of the BMI letter was calculated. Audio-taped 1-h focus groups were conducted with parents/caregivers of 8- to 14-year-old obese (鈮?5th BMI-for-age percentile) children. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit responses. Qualitative content analysis was conducted on transcripts to identify emergent themes.

Results

Readability analysis showed higher grade levels than recommended. Eight focus groups consisting of two to six parents each were conducted (n = 29); 83% were female, mean age 41 卤 9 years, and 65% self-identified as Hispanic/Latino. Key themes identified included usefulness of the BMI letter, concerns about utility of BMI for screening, concerns about impacting self-esteem, and failure to understand the letter.

Conclusions

The MA BMI letter may not have been achieving its desired goal with some parents.

Practice implications

Emergent themes from this study could be used to test effectiveness of similar BMI letters nationwide and develop strategies to improve communication to parents.