Developing group-based services for people with severe obesity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding patient and service needs to develop a Specialist Weight Management behaviour change group programme to support people with severe obesity: A realist investigation.
IRAS ID
298913
Contact name
Christopher Rollinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
There are now an estimated five million people in England with severe obesity, and rising. Severe obesity impacts negatively on people’s lives and is associated with other health conditions such as diabetes, depression, cancer and poorer health outcomes from COVID.
Specialist weight management services are available for people who have severe obesity. These services follow the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on obesity treatment. Although current guidelines detail what should be offered to patients, they do not detail how to offer it. Waiting lists for these services have become even longer during the pandemic lockdowns, as services have closed and then attempted on-line delivery to re-open. Evidence is, as yet, unavailable about how current on-line services are working and experienced by patients, and how moving to a group-based delivery format, favoured by some, may be best achieved.
To support service evolution, we need to know stakeholders experience of the way that current programmes have developed and are offered. The study will work to understand the needs and priorities of all stakeholders when designing and delivering a group-based behavioural change programme for people with severe obesity. Developing group-based services for people with severe obesity (Developing PROGROUP) will be comprised of qualitative interviews with 45 participants (or until saturation reached). Specialist weight management service stakeholders will include: Service managers, group facilitators, past recipients of services, facilitators, trainers, intervention programme designers. This knowledge will underpin our plans to develop and deliver an optimised group-based behaviour change programme as part of a Nation-wide study.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/0679
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion