: The PI, Ulfat Shaikh, MD, MPH, MS, is a general pediatrician who is currently a K12 scholar at the University of California (UC) Davis. Her long-range career objectives are to conduct translational research on health information technologies that will improve clinical care relevant to pediatric overweight and obesity, with a particular emphasis on disadvantaged rural populations. Her proposed 3-year program of education and research, described in this K08 application, draws on rich interdisciplinary mentoring as well as the resources of the Center for Health and Technology and Clinical and Translational Sciences Center at UC Davis. Rural populations face disparities with respect to health status, healthcare services, and medical research. Pediatric obesity, a priority health concern, is more prevalent in rural compared to urban areas. Consensus guidelines recommend annual screening for weight status and counseling for diet and physical activity for all children. Nonetheless, healthcare providers infrequently screen children for weight status or provide such counseling. Learning collaboratives (a process wherein teams from multiple sites collaborate on improving a process, practice, or system and learn from their collective experiences) have improved the quality of preventive and patient-centered care in ambulatory settings. The proposed research plan will test the effect of an intervention delivered utilizing health information technology, specifically telehealth, on screening and counseling for pediatric obesity prevention in rural clinics. The objective of the intervention is to employ health information technology to connect rural clinics for collaborative quality improvement and to promote patient-centered care though the Healthy Eating Active Living Telehealth Learning Collaborative (HEALTH-LC). We will address the following specific aims: 1) To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of HEALTH-LC in increasing screening for weight status and patient-centered counseling for diet and physical activity in six rural California clinics;2) To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of HEALTH-LC in improving short-term diet and physical activity behaviors in children seen for well child visits in six rural California clinics;3) To qualitatively assess participants'experiences in the HEALTH-LC. Learning collaboratives can potentially employ health information technologies to improve patient-centered care, strengthen the rural medical home, and improve screening for weight status and counseling for diet and physical activity in underserved rural areas. The proposed research is innovative and novel because it would be the first study to investigate the impact of using telehealth as a mechanism for fostering collaborative quality improvement to address factors related to pediatric overweight and obesity in disadvantaged rural populations. Pediatric obesity is more prevalent in rural compared to urban areas. The PI, Ulfat Shaikh, MD, MPH, MS, aims to utilize health information technology to improve patient-centered care, screening for weight status and counseling for diet and physical activity in underserved rural areas. She will do this by employing web-based resources and telehealth technology to connect and support underserved rural clinics in California for quality improvement though the Healthy Eating Active Living Telehealth Learning Collaborative (HEALTH-LC).
Pediatric obesity is more prevalent in rural compared to urban areas. The PI, Ulfat Shaikh, MD, MPH, MS, aims to utilize health information technology to improve patient-centered care, screening for weight status and counseling for diet and physical activity in underserved rural areas. She will do this by employing web-based resources and telehealth technology to connect and support underserved rural clinics in California for quality improvement though the Healthy Eating Active Living Telehealth Learning Collaborative (HEALTH-LC).
