Identification of Overweight and Obesity in Low-Income Minority Children by Pediatric Providers and Child Characteristics Associated With Underrecognition

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-1-2019

Journal

Journal of Pediatric Health Care

Volume

33

Issue

2

DOI

10.1016/j.pedhc.2018.07.007

Keywords

Body mass index; childhood obesity; electronic health record; overweight; primary care

Abstract

© 2018 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Introduction: Childhood overweight and obesity remains prevalent. We sought to identify characteristics associated with correct coding of obese and overweight children ages 2-9 years by pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) in an urban, minority clinic. Method: Samples included electronic health records pre- (n = 262) and post- (n = 244) provider training to implement an intervention aiming to improve consistency in obesity prevention and management guidelines from 15 providers. Analysis included descriptive statistics and simple logistic regression. Results: Child characteristics consistently associated with correct coding in both pre- and post-intervention included children with obese body mass index percentiles (vs. overweight) and older-aged children (vs. toddlers). Provider characteristics were not associated. Discussion: Improvements in coding overweight and obese children occurred post-intervention, yet many were missed. Knowledge of characteristics associated with missed coding can inform targeted training for PCPs to implement evidence-based obesity guidelines with full fidelity for all families.

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