Dear Colleague,

Presently, I am a Nurse Practitioner at Veteran Administration Boston Massachusetts and a Doctor of Nursing Practice student at Frontier Nursing University. Currently, I am completing a community-based, virtual, population health project designed to explore gaps in population health and capture the patient experience. I am inviting you to participate in the Quality Improvement study entitled Patient-Centered Health Promotion for Adult Overweight prevention and Management in Primary Care.

What is this project about?

The AIM is to Improve patient-centered care of adults with health promotion for overweight prevention and management in primary care.

Obesity is an epidemic in the United States, two in three adults or 70.2% of men and women are categorized as obese or overweight.

Obesity and Overweight is a significant risk factor and a leading contributor to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Aggregate medical costs for obesity are estimated to cost 315 billion dollars annually with absenteeism costs associated with obesity over $2 billion annually.

According to the United States Preventative Task Force, the rates of measuring weight over time and weight counseling in primary care are lacking.

Prevention and or counseling is a key strategy in health outcomes. 

What will happen if I decide to participate?

The participant will have the benefit of participation in an individual encounter for health promotion in overweight prevention and management resulting in a patient-centered goal with follow up coaching.

The goal for the participant is to develop skills and use evidence-based tools to select and adjust a health goal dependent on an individual health need. 

All data analyzed and reported is de-identified. The data is reported at the aggregate level. No individual data will be identifiable. This will never be reported publicly.

This project is compliant with federal guidelines for quality improvement and does not qualify as human subjects research. 

The participant through email will receive consent to participate in the Quality Improvement project. 

A date for the virtual encounter will be determined by either initial communication or subsequent email communication. Zoom, Google Meet, and Face Time will be offered.

There is a tele-consult option if other modalities are not desired by the participant. 

Prior to the virtual encounter, the participant will receive the Weight History document with a request to return at least one day prior to the virtual encounter by email. 

At the virtual encounter of approximately 15 – 25 minutes, the Weight History document results will be shared with the participant.

Evidence-based tools for diet, exercise, and stress management related to health promotion and weight management will be provided and reviewed.

At the end of the encounter, the participant will determine an individualized health goal. 

The participant will reengage weekly over 4 weeks by email to determine progress towards individualized health goal and effectiveness of the evidenced-based tools.

At the conclusion of the project, you will be offered a $15 Amazon gift card.

If you’d like to participate or have any questions about the QI project, please email or contact me at karen.tepper01@frontier.edu or 508-521-0480.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Karen Tepper, MS, ANP-BC, HHCNS-BC