Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Open Access

Abstract

An educational intervention was conducted to determine the efficacy of an obesity sensitivity program to determine nursing students’ attitudes toward obese clients. As part of the clinical curriculum, nursing students (N=103) received weekly obesity sensitivity education on weight-based discrimination. Students’ completed a pre- and post- Attitudes Toward Obese Person Scale (Barra, 2015) to evaluate discriminatory beliefs and actions. All clinical groups had a significant positive change in their own weight prejudices post obesity education intervention. Chi-square analyses were utilized as a measure of association between pre- and postobesity education with clinical application concerning obesity size, body odor, appearance, and lifestyle, along with provider fear of a back injury. Promoting nursing student awareness of obese client bias can dissipate negative stigmas to promote a therapeutic patient-provider relationship.

Biography

E-mail: Marynbarra@aol.com