Objective: To examine the impact of two styles of educational package on practice nurses' management of obesity.
Subjects and measures: A questionnaire was completed by 66 practice nurses concerning their obesity related beliefs and the content and style of their weight related practices before and one month after being randomly allocated to either the 'learner centred' group (who received a leaflet and were invited to attend an interactive seminar), the 'expert group' (who received the leaflet) or the control group. At the one month follow up, practice nurses were also asked to give a brief questionnaire to five consecutive patients, who they saw for weight loss advice, concerning the content and style of the consultation. After 6 months, practice nurses, and patients were sent a questionnaire about their consultation style and weight loss, respectively.
Results: The packages had no differential effects on practice nurses' beliefs about obesity. However, practice nurses in the 'learner group' reported spending longer on their consultations and being more patient centred. Their patients rated themselves as more satisfied with the consultation and reported that they were offered calorie controlled diets less often. In contrast, practice nurses in the 'expert group' reported giving weight loss advice more frequently, being less patient centred and their patients reported greater confidence in, and likelihood of, weight loss and reported that they were more likely to be offered traditional weight loss interventions. The packages had no differential effects on patient weight.
Conclusion: Practice nurses' and patients' beliefs and behaviour and the style of their interactions can be changed by both expert and learner centred educational packages. The style of packages should be chosen in terms of both the available resources and the desired outcomes.