Successful treatment approaches are needed for obesity in adolescents. Motivational interviewing (MI), a counseling approach designed to enhance behavior change, shows promise in promoting healthy lifestyle changes. OBJECTIVE: Conduct a systematic review of MI for treating overweight and obesity in adolescents and meta-analysis of its effects on anthropometric and cardiometabolic outcomes.

Background and Purpose Adolescent obesity is a global epidemic. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a promising strategy to address adolescent obesity risk behaviors. However, primary care providers (PCPs) tend to express discomfort with learning and adopting MI practices and with addressing patient weight issues. PCP proficiency in using MI to discuss body mass index, health screening results, and nutrition and physical activity behaviors after receiving training and coaching from an MI expert and practicing the technique was evaluated. We hypothesized that comfort with MI would increase consistently over time. Methods Self-assessment surveys in MI proficiency were administered to PCPs after every youth participant MI session. MI comfort as determined by proficiency was categorized into low, medium, and high comfort according to survey Likert scale responses. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Fisher’s exact tests. Results Two hundred twenty-seven youth were seen for MI-based discussions by four PCPs. Two hundred twenty-six surveys had complete data for analysis. As anticipated, overall PCPs reported significantly more comfort with MI from the first to the final MI session over a two to three month period (p < 0.001). Comfort scores did not increase linearly over time for all PCPs. Despite standard training practices, overall MI proficiency as measured by comfort scores varied by PCP (p <0.01). Implications for Practice This type of MI training program should be considered for clinical nurses and nurse practitioners during their nursing education training to facilitate their ability to consistently and effectively support youth behavior change for conditions like obesity. (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT02502383)

Consistently uncontrolled asthma in children is an increasing concern in the United States. The use of asthma action plans with asthma education is inconsistent and may be improved with adaptations for low literacy. The objective of this study was formative evaluation for implementation of the New Mexico Pictorial Asthma Action Plan (NM PicAAP). Quality improvement processes guided NM PicAAP face validation and telehealth direct patient care implementation. The asthma control test was selected to measure asthma control. NM PicAAP was revised for face validity, and training curriculum on its use and telehealth implementation processes were developed. Seven youth received NM PicAAP via telehealth direct care, which increased overall asthma control scores over 1 month. NM PicAAP may be useful and effective for improving asthma care in children via telehealth. Additional testing is needed to assess applicability.

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Objectives: Incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing in women of reproductive age, leading to increased prevalence of HCV infection in children via vertical transmission. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to increase referrals to and appointments scheduled with a specialty pediatric gastroenterology HCV clinic and the number of eligible children with HCV who completed treatment. Methods: From July 2020 to August 2021, the QI team designed a project using the Model for Improvement and completed Plan Do Study Act cycles to test change ideas to improve HCV awareness and education for medical providers and families; standardize the referral process; track patients; increase clinic capacity; and connect families with community resource care coordination. Referrals to the pediatric HCV clinic, appointments scheduled, no shows, and treatment follow-up were tracked during the project period and a comparison timeframe from July 2019 to June 2020. Results: There were improvements in several measures during the project period versus the comparison timeframe, with 80 versus 48 referrals received (66% increase), 115 versus 59 scheduled clinic visits (95% increase), and 7 versus 5 treatment completers (40% increase), along with a small (7%) decline in the proportion of scheduled clinic visits that were no shows. Conclusion: Application of QI methodology increased medical provider and caregiver awareness and engagement in accessing HCV healthcare available for at-risk children. More QI efforts should be accelerated to identify best practices amidst a nationwide HCV epidemic.