Integrated Care for Pediatric Obesity Using Telehealth
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 10 - 17 |
| Updated: | 4/21/2016 |
| Start Date: | February 2013 |
| End Date: | January 2015 |
Obesity is perhaps the most urgent public health crisis in pediatrics. Thus, managing
childhood obesity is a top priority among pediatricians in primary care settings. However,
effective treatment typically is multidisciplinary, and most practices currently do not have
the infrastructure for coordinating integrated care. With the advent of the Affordable Care
Act (ACA), innovative systems for building multidisciplinary teams to provide integrated
care through a patient-centered medical home will be at a strategic advantage. The use of
electronic technologies for delivering health-related information or services, known as
telehealth, is an innovation with the potential to streamline integrated care and transform
interventions for chronic diseases. We propose a pilot study to evaluate telehealth for
treating pediatric obesity in collaboration with a community practice (Wareham Pediatrics).
Patients aged 10 to 17 years who participate in the telehealth intervention study (N=40)
will be randomly assigned to an "immediate" intervention group or a "wait list" control
group. Subjects in the "immediate" intervention group will begin the 6-month telehealth
intervention at the time of enrollment in the study and then receive general patient/family
counseling from their primary care providers (PCPs) at routine office visits during a
6-month follow-up period. Those in the "wait list" control group will receive general
patient/family counseling from their PCPs for 6 months followed by the telehealth
intervention for 6 months. Thus, the total duration of participation in the study for each
subject will be 12 months. The telehealth intervention will include dietary, physical
activity, and behavioral management counseling provided by videoconferencing from the OWL
clinical providers at Boston Children's Hospital to children in their homes, or at a
telehealth station at Wareham Pediatrics.
childhood obesity is a top priority among pediatricians in primary care settings. However,
effective treatment typically is multidisciplinary, and most practices currently do not have
the infrastructure for coordinating integrated care. With the advent of the Affordable Care
Act (ACA), innovative systems for building multidisciplinary teams to provide integrated
care through a patient-centered medical home will be at a strategic advantage. The use of
electronic technologies for delivering health-related information or services, known as
telehealth, is an innovation with the potential to streamline integrated care and transform
interventions for chronic diseases. We propose a pilot study to evaluate telehealth for
treating pediatric obesity in collaboration with a community practice (Wareham Pediatrics).
Patients aged 10 to 17 years who participate in the telehealth intervention study (N=40)
will be randomly assigned to an "immediate" intervention group or a "wait list" control
group. Subjects in the "immediate" intervention group will begin the 6-month telehealth
intervention at the time of enrollment in the study and then receive general patient/family
counseling from their primary care providers (PCPs) at routine office visits during a
6-month follow-up period. Those in the "wait list" control group will receive general
patient/family counseling from their PCPs for 6 months followed by the telehealth
intervention for 6 months. Thus, the total duration of participation in the study for each
subject will be 12 months. The telehealth intervention will include dietary, physical
activity, and behavioral management counseling provided by videoconferencing from the OWL
clinical providers at Boston Children's Hospital to children in their homes, or at a
telehealth station at Wareham Pediatrics.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged 10 to 17 years
- BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex
- No known significant obesity comorbidity or cause requiring urgent medical evaluation
or treatment in a subspecialty program other than an obesity program
- No known physical limitations to changes in diet or activity level (i.e., concern for
cardiac disease, primary gastrointestinal disease, or orthopedic concerns)
- Patient at Wareham Pediatrics practice
Exclusion Criteria:
- Unstable home environment (homeless, temporary living situation, lack of working
phone or electricity)
- Inability to actively participate in treatment (developmental delay, nonverbal,
severe psychiatric illness).
- Physician diagnosis of a major medical illness or eating disorder.
- Chronic use of any medication or supplement that may affect study outcomes.
- Another member of the family (i.e., first degree relative) or household participating
in the study.
- Planning to relocate from current area of residence during the proposed timeframe for
study participation
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