Teen CHAT: Improving Physician Communication With Adolescents About Healthy Weight

Summary

The purpose of this study is to teach primary care physicians effective ways to counsel overweight and obese adolescent patients to attain a healthy weight. Fifty physicians and up to 660 adolescent patients from Duke University Health System (DUHS) Primary Care Clinics will take part in this study.

Patients will be identified by research study staff and asked if they would be willing to have their clinic visit audio recorded for research purposes. There are three phases of data collection. First, baseline encounters (n=200, 4 per physician) are audio recorded. Then, half of the physicians will be randomized to receive a tailored web-based intervention containing information about evidence-based techniques to help adolescents attain a healthy weight. A new set of 200 encounters (4 per physician) will be audio recorded. Then, all physicians will receive a Summary Report that outlines the adolescent's high risk behaviors that contribute to weight (sweetened beverages, fast food, breakfast, physical activity, screen time, and sleep) and a new set of 200 encounters will be audio recorded.

Data will be collected by trained data technicians, in-person and over the phone. Data is collected on laptop computers and then downloaded into password protected electronic files on a secure network server. All participants (adolescent patients and physicians) will be assigned a code number that is the sole identifier on all study data forms. Prior to and after coding, digital files will be stored in password protected directories to which only the data technicians and project manager have access. The web-based intervention will be password protected.

Conditions

• Communication
• Obesity
• Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Sleep

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Web-based intervention targeting MD communication; Summary Report

Web-based intervention targeting MD communication; Summary Report detailing 6 risk factors for adolescent overweight/obesity developed by study team

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  collaborator NIH

• Duke University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kathryn I Pollak, PhD · Duke University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2009-09-30

Primary Completion

2013-12-31

Completion

2014-02-28

Countries

• United States

Study Locations