G146(P) Efforts to increase early detection of obese and overweight children in general pediatric clinics

Aim Lack of attention to the pediatric Body Mass Index (BMI) by the physician during outpatient visits decreases the early detection of obese and overweight children visiting the clinic for reasons other than increased weight and subsequently delays starting active management. The aim of this project was to promote early detection and management of patients with a BMI above or equal to 85th percentile for age and gender (High BMI). Methods Several Plan Do Study Act cycles were implemented: Education all physician and the nursing staff regarding measurement of BMI in children To choose the ‘office visit’ template on Cerner (electronic medical record) so that the BMI is automatically built into the physician note Nursing Staff identified Patients with high BMI during vital signs check and placed a reminder next to the patient’s room number to alert the treating physician about patient’s high BMI status High BMI Patients were provided with an educational pamphlet on diet management and referred to dietician Results Conclusion The recognition of BMI is the first step to early detection of pediatric obesity. Through simple sustained efforts we were able to improve the management of High BMI children by improving counseling and dietician referral to above 75% in the last quarter of 2018. We intend to follow the patients detected to be overweight and obese in these clinics to see if simple measures like family counselling and dietician referral have resulted in BMI reduction over time.