Improving team-based biopsychosocial training so clinics can deliver recommended obesity care
Increasing Access to USPSTF-Recommended Obesity Care for Youth and Adults Who Are Recipients of Medicaid: Evaluation of a Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Obesity Care Training Program in FQHCs
This project will test two training methods to help clinic teams (primary care clinicians, behavioral health staff, dietitians, and community health workers) deliver USPSTF-recommended obesity care to patients at Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 6200 (estimated) |
| Ages | 5 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Washington University School of Medicine Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (St Louis, Missouri) |
| Trial ID | NCT07049861 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
The initiative randomly compares a comprehensive multidisciplinary obesity care training approach to an implementation-as-usual control across Federally Qualified Health Centers affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine. It measures patient-level outcomes such as relative weight change and the proportion achieving clinically significant weight loss, and it tracks treatment reach and utilization. The project also measures provider behavior by comparing referral rates to USPSTF-recommended care at 12 and 24 months and by measuring short- and long-term changes in provider obesity-care competencies. Finally, the study compares implementation processes and service costs between the two training approaches.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal candidates are primary care clinics serving patients with overweight or obesity and their clinical teams (PCPs, behavioral health providers, registered dietitians, and community health workers) along with the adult patients they serve who are eligible for USPSTF-recommended intensive behavioral treatment or medical nutrition therapy.
Not a fit: Patients who do not receive care at participating clinics, who lack overweight/obesity, or who cannot engage in behavioral interventions are unlikely to benefit from this initiative.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the preferred training method could increase delivery of guideline-recommended obesity care in community clinics and help more patients achieve clinically meaningful weight loss.
How similar studies have performed: Previous trials of intensive behavioral treatment and medical nutrition therapy have shown modest but clinically meaningful weight loss, but direct comparisons of training approaches for primary care teams in FQHC settings remain limited.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Study Eligibility Criteria - Provider Trainees: * Provider Trainees must be PCPs, BHPs, RDNs, or CHWs who work at participating clinics. * PCPs that are eligible to participate as Provider Trainees can be any of the following: Medical Doctors (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Physician Assistants (PA), or Nurse Practitioners (NP). PCPs must see patients in a primary care setting and be capable of referring patients to IBT and MNT. PCPs must have already completed their residency (when applicable). * BHPs that are eligible to participate as Provider Trainees must be at least one of the following categories (listed with typical credentials): Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Psychologist (PhD/PsyD), Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatrist (MD). * RDNs that are eligible to participate as Provider Trainees must be Registered Dietitians/Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. * CHWs must work as Community Health Workers, or in functionally similar role, within participating clinics Study Eligibility - EHR Patients: Benefit-Eligible Patients from Participating Clinics * Benefit-Eligible Patients from Participating Clinics can either be youth (ages 5-20) or adults (ages 21+) and must be recipients of Medicaid, eligible for the MO Medicaid benefit (i.e., Medicaid recipients with obesity), and have been seen at participating FQHC clinics. Exclusion Criteria - Provider Trainees: * Not at a participating clinic * PCPs who do not have the ability to refer to IBT or MNT * Resident Doctors * A doctor specializing in reproductive health (or related fields) Exclusion Criteria - Benefit-Eligible Patients from Participating Clinics: * Patients without obesity * Patients not on Medicaid * Youth under the age of 5 * Not a patient at a participating clinic
Where this trial is running
St Louis, Missouri
- Washington University School of Medicine — St Louis, Missouri, United States (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Denise Wilfley, Ph.D. — Washington University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Aubrie Hampp, MSc
- Email: ahampp@wustl.edu
- Phone: 314-662-2005
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.