Initial Screening and Referral for Overweight or Obese Adults in an Air Force Primary Care Setting

Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity contributed approximately $147 billion to national medical expenses in the United States in 2008. There are many overweight and obese active duty service members (ADSMs) or airmen in United States Air Force (USAF). The USAF leadership’s goal at Robins Air Force Base (RAFB) is to have primary care managers (PCM) to routinely screen airmen for their body mass index (BMI) and refer them to the Health and Wellness Center (HAWC). The objective of this initiative is to improve the percentage rate of screening and referrals documented with a statistically significant improvement after three months. Methods: The Iowa Model guided the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) practice. Data was collected from 1 May to 31 July 2013 and 1 May to 31 July 2014. The posters in the patient care rooms served as reminders. Six providers worked with twelve medical technicians (MTs) in the family health clinic (FHC) who measured heights and weights of ADSMs at every patient visit. The electronic medical record (EMR) automatically calculated the BMIs. The providers diagnosed airmen with overweight or obesity and they ordered referrals in the EMR. Outcomes: Statistically significant changes were found in 2014 compared to 2013 for the older obese ADSMs in the age 30 to 64 year group for males and females; 48.3% vs 21.4%, p<0.5 and 66.7% vs 36%, p<0.5, respectively. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant increase in the referral rates for older obese male and female airmen in 2014. There was no significant increase for the other groups.