For the public – New HSE.ie content on the topic of Obesity
HSE.ie provides information and advice on health conditions, symptoms, self-care and treatment, including how to live well with long-term illness. New content on the topic of obesity is now available at https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/obesity/.
Developed by the National Clinical Programme Obesity team, it provides factual evidence based information on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of obesity. It highlights obesity as a complex chronic multi-factorial condition requiring individualised treatment and long-term support, like any other chronic disease. Definitions of weight stigma and bias are also included, acknowledging the negative physical and mental health effects these can have. Information on where people living with obesity can access peer support as well as a range of self-management supports, pharmacotherapy and surgery treatment options are also provided.
For the patient – ‘Talking about weight: a guide to healthy behaviours’ patient booklet
In addition, there is a new resource ‘Talking about weight: a guide to healthy behaviours’ available free of charge from www.healthpromotion.ie. The resource is for people who are interested in taking steps towards improving health behaviours for overall health and wellbeing. The guide supports people to understand the range of factors that cause obesity and provides information and a range of tools to support people with health behaviour change. It was designed in collaboration with health professionals specialising in obesity care and the Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity, patient advocacy organisation www.icpobesity.org.
For the healthcare professional – MECC module ‘Talking about Overweight and Obesity’
Making Every Contact Count (MECC) is a central part of how the HSE and healthcare staff support people to think about health behaviour change. A new MECC module ‘Talking about Overweight and Obesity’ has been developed to support staff to have helpful conversations with people living with overweight and obesity about health behaviours. The module explains the science of obesity. It provides guidance on how a healthcare professional can seek to understand the individual’s life circumstances during supportive, non-judgemental brief interventions with their patients as part of routine care. Given the complexity of obesity, it emphasises that the role of healthcare staff is about providing non-stigmatising messages about health behaviours that may have a positive impact on health, function and quality of life, regardless of body weight, shape or size. The module is available to access on www.HSEland.ie and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
All three resources are designed to improve public, patients and healthcare professionals knowledge and understanding of obesity.