Physicians' political party affiliation and clinical management of obesity

Abstract

Summary Studies have documented that few patients with obesity receive evidence‐based care. One provider characteristic that may impact clinical obesity care, but that has been under studied to date, is political party affiliation. This study sought to evaluate how primary care physicians (PCPs) report managing patients with obesity and assess whether there are differences between Democratic and Republican PCPs. This was a secondary analysis of a cross‐sectional survey of 225 PCPs registered to vote as Democrats or Republicans in 29 US States. After reading a patient vignette, the PCPs reported the following outcomes: likelihood of documenting obesity in the medical record; likelihood of discussing obesity with the patient; and likelihood of engaging in eight different obesity management options. Almost all PCPs reported they would document obesity in the medical record (Republican = 97.6%, Democrat = 94.3%) and discuss it further (Republican = 95.2%, Democrat = 92.2%). Among eight obesity management options, PCPs were least likely to say they would prescribe medication (3.9%) or refer the patient to counselling (24.0%), regardless of political affiliation. Republicans were more likely to report that they would inquire about the time course of obesity (73.4% v. 56.2%, P = 0.012) and discuss health risks of obesity (91.0% vs 78.3%, P = .018). Republican and Democratic PCPs report some differences in managing patients with obesity, suggesting that political beliefs may play a role in some clinical care.

Variability in Primary Care Physician Attitudes Toward Medicaid Work Requirement Exemption Requests Made by Patients With Depression

“…In line with earlier research, we find that physicians are unwilling to simply implement in mechanistic ways rules that conflict with their personal and professional preferences, and that partisan bias can lead to unwarranted variation in patient care. 23 , 31 From a patient welfare perspective, our findings have both upsides and downsides.…”

Exploring a Need for a Cardiometabolic Disease Staging System as a Computerized Clinical Decision Support Tool: Qualitative Study

“…Turner et al [ 31 ] found, among a nationally representative sample of active health care providers, that (1) knowledge of physical activity and dietary guidelines was limited and (2) understanding of the appropriate initiation, intensity, and duration of pharmacotherapy was often inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines. Another study found that PCPs were least likely to say they would prescribe medication or refer a patient to counseling [ 32 ]. Regarding CDSS features, a systematic review by Groenhof et al [ 33 ] found that design and usability were important drivers behind the success, noting that information should be displayed all at once and at one glance.…”

Political voting in the United Kingdom 2019 general election and risk of living with obesity in a nationally representative sample

“…Ample research has documented the seriousness of the high number of people living with overweight as a public health problem and examined differences in rates of people with obesity by characteristics such as self-reported gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status [1][2][3]. Evidence also shows an association between doctors' political affiliation and their approach to the management of those living with obesity [4]. However, little research has explored the relationship between rates of people with obesity and individual political affiliation.…”