Coventry University researchers are calling for better communication in healthcare as a study found hundreds of patients have experienced negative emotions when healthcare professionals talk to them about their body weight.
The research looked at patients who live with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), a condition which sees a build-up of fluid in the brain putting pressure on nerves in the back of the eye causing vision problems and headaches with the potential risk of permanent vision loss. Obesity is a risk factor for developing IIH and 90% of people living with IIH are overweight or have obesity. Sustained weight loss is recommended by healthcare professionals for long-term remission of the disease.
The study by Coventry University’s Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities in collaboration with IIH UK, a charity dedicated to the needs of people with the condition, found that the majority of the 625 participants experienced negative or unhelpful comments, with one patient recalling: “He (healthcare professional) just looked at me and said I needed to lose a lot of weight. Wasn’t even weighed.”
Other patients recalled being told to lose at least 10% of their body weight within a few months and added that no support or help was given to help them achieve that. Another said “They kept moving it…5%, 6%–10%, 12%, then I didn’t lose it fast enough”, while another said their target weight was “not realistic as it is what I weighed 20 years ago when I was a 15-year-old adolescent”.
The study also found that only 22% of those who took part were offered weight management support and only 16% of those felt the support was helpful and appropriate.
Dr Sally Abbott, Assistant Professor at the Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities, said: “We believe that healthcare professionals could adapt their communication style and approach when it comes to weight management. Patients told us that they felt vulnerable and anxious about attending their healthcare appointments. People with IIH are living with a condition that for some is so debilitating that they cannot work, it can impact negatively on their mental health, and there is even a risk of them losing their sight.
“The last thing they need is to feel blamed for their illness. People with IIH wish for healthcare professionals to ‘engage in a two-way dialogue’ about their excess weight as part of shared decision-making, rather than being ‘talked at’.”
Amanda Denton, Trustee and Research Representative for IIH UK, said: “IIH UK knew there was an issue as people with IIH were discussing their negative experiences of weight related discussions with health care professionals in our Facebook group so we put together a survey. More than 600 people with IIH responded to the survey within a week which just showed us how massive the problem was.
“I was in tears looking at the responses and so reached out to Sally and said ‘, we need to do something’. There needs to be targeted training around how to approach weight related conversations for health care professionals and ready access to weight management services for people with IIH.”
Read the full report here and find out more about the Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities.
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