Obesity Management of Family Physicians in Van City; Attitudes, Approaches and Practices

INTRODUCTION: Family physicians have an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of obesity, as most obese patients are first seen by the family physician. The aim of our study was to evaluate the obesity management of family physicians working in family health centers in Van province.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 04.05.2021-30.07.2021 with 126 volunteer family physicians working in family health centers representing Van province. The questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, obesity knowledge and self-efficacy questions were completed by the physicians themselves.
RESULTS: Only 13 (10.3%) of the physicians knew the number of obese patients registered in their units. Although 97 (77%) of the physicians stated the family physician was responsible for obesity management, 54 (42.9%) stated they calculated the body mass index of their patients "sometimes" and 48 (38.1%) "rarely". Seventy-one (56.3%) of the physicians thought family physicians had a great role in the prevention of obesity, while 63 (50%) argued the best role of the family physicians in obesity management isn’t treating these patients but referring them to the relevant fields. Among physicians who calculated BMI "often", 66.7% indicated that they were professionally prepared to treat overweight patients (p=0.030) and didn't consider themselves unsuccessful in getting their patients to lose weight (p=0.010).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study shows that although obesity is included in chronic disease follow-up in primary care, it has not been put into practice. It is clear that there is a need to train family physicians on obesity management and to help them gain self-efficacy.