The EASO Collaborating Centres for Obesity Management (COMs) Network hosted a webinar in March 2024 focused on exploring comprehensive care needs of people living with obesity — including social, physical and emotional support — beyond weight management. The expert speaker panel highlighted disparities in current obesity care provision and research, aiming to promote equitable, evidence-informed care for all individuals.
During this webinar, the Obesity Care interactive evidence and gap map (EGM) webpage (https://obesitycare.org.nz/) was presented as a valuable resource for clinicians, researchers and patient advocates.
The EGM assesses existing healthcare interventions to improve outcomes for patients living with severe obesity admitted to hospital. Of over 64,000 reviewed studies, 247 were included in the EGM. Most studies (210; 85%) involved special care pathway interventions, such as peri-operative care and surgical recovery. However, few addressed holistic, patient-centred care. Limited evidence existed on specific interventions that focused on safe moving and handling of patients living with severe obesity (26; 12.4%), assessment tools (22; 8.9%) and patient mobility (5; 2%).
As patients with severe obesity admitted to hospital have worse healthcare outcomes compared to patients without obesity, this EGM can inform the coordination and delivery of services needed for this population group. The EGM provides an interactive resource to support the development and delivery of hospital-level care for patients with severe obesity and inform further research.
The authors of the EGM are Hales, C., Chrystall, R., Jeffreys, M., Weatherall, R., & Haase, A.M., based at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Creation of the EGM is a project funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand Activation grant.
Find more information on this EASO COMs webinar here.
Watch the recording of this webinar:
Researchers interested in collaborating with the team to increase knowledge on the wider care needs of people living with obesity are invited to connect on social media:
- Caz Hales – X: @caz_hales ; LinkedIn: cazhales77
- Anne Haase – X: @Haase_DrAnne
- Mona Jeffreys – X: @mona_jeffreys