Collegian
Volume 16, Issue 4 , Pages 171-175, December 2009

Changing the mindset: An inter-disciplinary approach to management of the bariatric patient

  • Tracy Nowicki, RN

      Affiliations

    • Principle Items Equipment Service, Main Block, First Floor, The Prince Charles Hospital, Metro North Health Service District, Queensland Health, Rode Road, Chermside, Qld 4032, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 3139 5624.
  • ,
  • Cheryl Burns, RN

      Affiliations

    • Education and Training, Office of the Chief Nurse, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia
    • Formerly, The Prince Charles Hospital, Australia.
  • ,
  • Paul Fulbrook, RN, PhD, MSc, PGDipEduc, BSc (Hons)

      Affiliations

    • National Centre for Clinical Outcomes Research, ACU National, Brisbane, Australia
    • Research and Practice Development, The Prince Charles Hospital, Metro North Health Service District, Queensland Health, Chermside, Australia
  • ,
  • Jacqueline Jones, RN, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nursing, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA
    • Formerly, The Prince Charles Hospital, Australia.

Received 31 July 2008; received in revised form 12 January 2009; accepted 17 March 2009. published online 12 May 2009.

Summary 

Obesity is a major health issue throughout the world. Modern nomenclature has replaced the word obesity with bariatric-related terminology. A bariatric person is defined as one who has health limitations due to their physical size, lack of mobility and environmental access. Obese people are often characterised by society as being lazy and unattractive, and this perception is prevalent among healthcare professionals also. This paper describes an innovative approach to obesity management in a large Australian health district in Queensland.

Keywords: Bariatric, Obesity, Overweight, Inter-disciplinary, Nursing equipment

 

PII: S1322-7696(09)00025-0

doi:10.1016/j.colegn.2009.03.002

Collegian
Volume 16, Issue 4 , Pages 171-175, December 2009