other rural areas in Appalachia may have similar characteristics , the results cannot necessarily be generalized to practices from other states . Clinicians may not have expressed interest in learning about bariatric surgery due to bias or inadequate knowledge of its effectiveness . Moreover , the time frame in which the needs assessment was circulated may have affected the number of responses . It was sent in the
FIGURE 2 . Specialties of Respondents
How Best Would You Classify Your Specialty ? ( Check All That Apply )
Other Obstetrics & Gynecology
Gerontology
Pediatrics Internal Medicine Family Medicine
Primary Care 0 10 20 30 40 50
beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic , when responding to the survey may have not been a priority for clinicians . This timing also may have skewed the results more in favor of virtual education options due to travel restrictions in place during the pandemic . In addition , non-response bias could have led some clinicians to skip certain questions due to opposing views . The lack of a neutral Likert scale option also could have led to non-responses , but this approach was used so that it would dichotomize answers .
CONCLUSION
Obesity medical education for primary care professionals in WV should primarily focus on topics identified as being relatively lower in baseline knowledge and higher in level of interest . These include lifestyle modifications , motivational interviewing , pharmacology pertaining to obesity , and bariatric surgery . Educational outreach for these clinicians is best provided through virtual CME courses in lecture formats or using case-based scenarios . Results from this needs assessment can be used to develop obesity medical education that can ultimately lead to reduced health disparities in rural WV .
TABLE 1 . Knowledge of obesity medicine topics
Statement
% With knowledge ( n )
% With low knowledge ( n )
N
Obesity pathophysiology and causes |
94.0 ( 78 ) |
6.0 ( 5 ) |
83 |
Food , diets , and nutrition |
90.4 ( 75 ) |
9.6 ( 8 ) |
83 |
Behavior changes to help with weight management |
89.0 ( 73 ) |
11.0 ( 9 ) |
82 |
Anti-obesity medications |
62.7 ( 52 ) |
37.3 ( 31 ) |
83 |
Bariatric surgery |
62.2 ( 51 ) |
37.8 ( 31 ) |
82 |
Statement
TABLE 2 . Confidence in managing obesity
% With confidence ( n )
% With low confidence ( n )
N
Counseling on food , diets , and nutrition |
95.1 ( 78 ) |
4.9 ( 4 ) |
82 |
Motivational interviewing for behavior changes to help with weight management |
80.7 ( 67 ) |
19.3 ( 16 ) |
83 |
Optimizing chronic medications for weight management |
61.0 ( 50 ) |
39.0 ( 32 ) |
82 |
Counseling and managing patients before and after bariatric surgery |
52.4 ( 43 ) |
47.6 ( 39 ) |
82 |
Prescribing anti-obesity medication |
49.9 ( 40 ) |
50.6 ( 41 ) |
81 |
West Virginia Medical Journal • March 2021 • 21