Attitudes of Preventive Care Specialists and Registered Dietitians Toward Their Obese Patients

<p>The purpose of this study was to compare preventive care specialists and registered dietitians regarding attitudes toward obese patients, to compare both groups with Canadian and American nurses previously studied, and to determine whether relationships exist between personal characteristics and attitudes toward obese patients. Questionnaires were sent to members of the American Preventive Care Association and 1,000 randomly selected members of the California Dietetic Association. Sixty-seven preventive care specialists and 579 registered dietitians participated in the study. A modified version of the <em>Attitudes Toward Obesity </em>scale, developed by Bagley, et al. was used to measure attitudes. Preventive care specialists and registered dietitians differed significantly on only two of twenty questions measuring attitudes toward obese patients. Preventive care specialists were slightly more likely to think that obese adult patients should be confronted if found cheating on their diet. Registered dietitians were slightly more likely to prefer not to work with obese adults. When responses of preventive care specialists, registered dietitians, and American and Canadian nurses were compared on five statements regarding obese adults, registered dietitians tended to hold the least prejudiced attitudes. A factor analysis divided questionnaire items into five factors: Dislike Obese, Weight Loss through Self-Control, Obese are Hard to Work With, Obese Have Negative Emotions, and Obese are Like Others. Relationships were found between personal characteristics of respondents and the factors, Dislike Obese, Weight Loss through Self-Control, and Obese are Like Others. Subjects who were registered dietitians, did not hold graduate degrees, and spent less time working with obese patients helping them lose weight tended to score higher on the factor, Dislike Obese. Preventive care specialists scored higher on the factor, Weight Loss through Self-Control. Asians appeared to believe that self-control is more important than either Caucasians or Hispanics. Practitioners who spent more time with eating disorder patients scored higher on the factor, Obese are Like Others. Prejudice toward the obese may be predicted by a belief that obesity can be prevented through self-control. Training programs for preventive care specialists and registered dietitians should address attitudes toward patients that might decrease professional efficacy.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year

2004

Author dc:creator

• Gabriel, Maryanna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jerry W. Lee
• Gary Hopkins
• Bert Connell

• Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition
• Preventive Medicine
• Public Health Education and Promotion
• Obesity -- diet therapy; Obesity -- prevention and control; Attitude of Health Personnel.

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/859

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-2001