Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40783696›Full record

ArticleBMC primary care2025

The role of link workers in weight management for people with severe mental illness: a qualitative study.

Rija Imran, Alexandra Kenny, Geoffrey Wong, Charlotte Lee

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC primary care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rija ImranSchool of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 0SP, UK.
Alexandra KennyThe McPin Foundation, Unit 1.4, The Green House, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9DA, UK.
Geoffrey WongNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6GG, UK.
Charlotte LeeNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6GG, UK. charlotte.lee@phc.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-8252-9538

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPeople with severe mental illness (SMI) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, partly due to factors such as overweight and obesity. Weight management programmes can potentially reduce this risk, but people with SMI face barriers to access and engagement.

aimTo explore the acceptability of using link workers to address barriers to accessing and engaging with weight management programmes for people with SMI. DESIGN AND

settingA qualitative study conducted with people with SMI, link workers, and health promotion workers in primary care. The study was co-designed and co-delivered with a person with lived experience of SMI.

methodFive online focus groups and dyad interviews were run with 13 participants, including seven people with SMI and six health professionals (three link workers and three health promotion workers), between 25 July 2023 and 31 March 2024. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a codebook thematic analysis in NVivo software.

resultsWe constructed three analytical themes. (1) The view of link workers: all participants saw link workers as valuable in overcoming emotional and practical barriers to weight management. (2) Expectations of link worker support: support must be personalised, culturally responsive, and focused on building trust. (3) Challenges for link workers: barriers included limited mental health training, undefined roles, and capacity concerns.

conclusionLink workers offer an acceptable, low-intense approach to improving access to weight management programmes for people with SMI. Strengthening coordination between link workers and weight management services in primary care, as well as defining their role and level of support, could improve outcomes for this underserved group.

Indexed as

Mental DisordersObesityOverweightWeight Reduction ProgramsAdultFemaleFocus GroupsHealth PromotionHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrimary Health CareQualitative ResearchLink workersPrimary health careQualitative researchSchizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disordersWeight reduction programmes

Identifiers

PMID40783696
PMCPMC12335018

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.