Implementation and Validation of the "5As Framework of Obesity Management" in Primary Care. "5AsT"

The main goal of this project is to develop, implement and evaluate the 5As Team intervention (5AsT)for healthcare practitioners to improve their weight management patient encounters and improve patient health outcomes. The 5As of Obesity Management suite of tools is a robust, evidence-based approach to weight management, however its implementation and uptake has been heterogeneous in primary care. This project was co-created by, and will be implemented with, our partners the Southside Primary Care Network (SSPCN). A needs assessment on weight management by the SSPCN revealed the need to change provider practice to increase the number of weight management visits. Despite a robust didactic training session on weight management for all providers, which includes the 5As, the uptake in practice has been highly heterogeneous. Thus, the 5AsT intervention to address the implementation of the 5As of Obesity Management in clinical practice was developed by the collaborative team. The SSPCN consists of 25 autonomous groups of multidisciplinary professionals that provide service to a defined group of patients within the SSPCN. The 5As Team consists of multidisciplinary providers (Registered Nurse/ Nurse Practitioner, dietician, mental health worker) who work collaboratively. The intervention is a learning collaborative where these 12 different 5AsTs get together to work to address facilitators and barriers to weight management in their settings over a 6 month period. Half of the teams (N=12) will remain as controls and deliver usual care. They serve as a comparison group for the 5AsTs. This mixed methods study's primary outcomes will assess the change in provider practice and the effectiveness of the intervention and implementation. To assess the impact of 5AsT on patients, we will recruit patients presenting to the central SSPCN programming, We will not intervene directly on patients; we will observe the impact of the 5AsT and SSPCN programming on their health outcomes for