Improving obesity treatment through online motivational support in primary care

Abstract

Background

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease requiring time-intensive, multifaceted management strategies that are often difficult to implement in primary care. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate whether the integration of an online motivational support group via Facebook, in addition to routine monthly office visits, could enhance obesity treatment outcomes and patient motivation in a primary care setting. As a nurse practitioner driven project, nurse practitioners have the training to make significant improvements in the area of obesity treatment. Nurse practitioners are key in providing patients with education and tools to help patients lose weight and maintain successful weight loss (Fruh, 2017) [1].

Methods

This was a quality improvement project using a pre-post design conducted at a private outpatient internal medicine clinic. Adult patients (n = 68) with a BMI ≥30 or ≥25 with comorbidities were enrolled. Participants joined a Facebook-based support group and received standardized education and monthly in-person follow-up for 12 weeks. Outcomes measured before and after the intervention included weight, BMI, waist circumference, and responses to the Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire-Short Form (WEL-SF). Paired t-tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Statistically significant improvements were observed in weight (−9.46 lbs, p < 0.0001), BMI (−1.91, p < 0.0001), and waist circumference (−1.87 inches, p < 0.0001). WEL-SF scores improved significantly in 7 of 8 domains, with an average increase of 11.8 %, indicating enhanced self-efficacy and motivation for healthy eating behaviors.

Conclusion

The integration of an online motivational support platform with monthly in-office visits significantly improved physiologic outcomes and patient self-efficacy in managing obesity. These findings support the feasibility and potential benefit of low-cost digital support tools in augmenting outpatient obesity care, particularly in settings with limited resources. Further research should explore the impact of engagement level and long-term outcomes.