ArticleCMAJ open
Barriers to accessing weight-loss interventions for patients with class II or III obesity in primary care: a qualitative study.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of Metabolic Bariatric Surgery on Cardiovascular Outcomes in People with Obesity and Pre-existing Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Factors Associated with the Acceptance of Weight Loss Drugs Among Overweight and Obese Adults in Mainland China: A Cross-Sectional Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Therapeutic inertia in obesity management among people living with obesity from the perspective of general/family practitioners in Canada: A mixed-methods study.Clinical obesity · 2025Article
- Culturally adapting an evidence-based intervention to promote a healthy diet and lifestyle for Yup'ik Alaska native communities.International journal of circumpolar health · 2023Article
- Research Trends in Motivation and Weight Loss: A Bibliometric-Based Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Review
- Primary care providers' perceived barriers to obesity treatment and opportunities for improvement: A mixed methods study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Integrated Care Model of Adiposity-Related Chronic Diseases.Current hypertension reports · 2022Review
- Survey of perceptions and educational needs of primary care providers regarding management of patients with class II and III obesity in Ontario, Canada.BMC family practice · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOver 1 million Canadians have class II or III obesity; however, access to weight-loss interventions for these patients remains limited. The purpose of our study was to identify the barriers to accessing medical and surgical weight-loss interventions from the perspectives of 3 groups: family physicians, patients who were referred for weight-loss intervention and patients who were not referred for weight-loss intervention.
methodsBetween November 2017 and May 2018, we conducted a qualitative exploratory research study using focus groups with family physicians and interviews with patients with class II or III obesity from 1 region in southern Ontario. We conducted a thematic analysis to identify emergent themes and used the barriers to change theory to classify the similarities and differences between the perspectives of family physicians, referred patients and nonreferred patients in first- and second-order barriers.
resultsSeventeen family physicians participated in 7 focus groups (1-4 participants/group), and we interviewed 8 referred patients and 7 nonreferred patients. We identified lack of resource supports, logistics and lack of knowledge about weight-loss interventions as first-order barriers to change, and lack of knowledge about root causes of obesity, lack of patient readiness for change and family physicians' perceptions about surgical weight loss as second-order barriers to change. Family physicians and patients had similar perceptions regarding lack of resource supports in the community, logistical issues, family physicians' lack of knowledge regarding weight-loss interventions, patients' lack of motivation and family physicians' perceptions of bariatric surgery as being high risk. They differed regarding the root cause of obesity, with family physicians attributing obesity to multiple extrinsic and intrinsic causes, whereas patients believed obesity was largely due to intrinsic causes alone.
interpretationIt is important to address first- and second-order barriers to accessing weight-loss interventions through continuing professional development activities for family physicians to help ensure effective and timely treatment for patients with class II or III obesity and related comorbidities.
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