Evaluation of the use of a Healthy Weight Discussion Tool by a health visiting team

Abstract

A quarter of children in the UK are entering primary school either overweight or obese ( NHS Digital, 2017 ). These children have an increased risk of serious health consequences during their childhood years, which often continues into adulthood ( World Health Organization (WHO, 2017 ). A Healthy Weight Discussion Tool was created and introduced into a health visiting service to assist staff to identify and manage children presenting with excess weight. Three teams trialled its use, but uptake of this tool was low. A focus group evaluation was therefore carried out to examine the experience of staff using the tool. Although the tool was effective when implemented as intended, certain factors prevented its use in practice. These findings need to be addressed and the use of the tool re-evaluated to ascertain whether this service improvement will enhance the management of children with excess weight within the Universal service.