Affiliation:
1. NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, North East and North Cumbria UK
2. Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne UK
3. Department of Health and Social Care Office for Health Improvement and Disparities UK
4. Public Health South Tees, The Live Well Centre Middlesbrough UK
5. School of Health and Life Sciences Teesside University Middlesbrough UK
Abstract
SummaryGuidelines recommend provision of local behavioural weight management (tier 2) programmes for adults living with overweight and obesity. Following the publication of the UK Government's publication ‘Tackling Obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ in July 2021, Government invested around £30 million of additional funding to support the expansion of local authority commissioned tier 2 provision for adults living with excess weight. We conducted a cross‐sectional survey study to scope the types of services available, to whom they were made available, and barriers and facilitators to service delivery. An e‐survey was disseminated to local authority commissioned tier 2 service providers in England from September to October 2022. Through a combination of closed and open (qualitative) questions, the survey collected data on referral routes, participant eligibility criteria, service content and format, and challenges and enablers to service delivery. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively whilst thematic content analysis was applied to qualitative data. We received 52 responses (estimated response rate = 59%) representing all nine England regions and 89 unique local authorities. Most services were multi‐component (84.3%), were 12 weeks duration (78.0%), were group‐based (90.0%), were primarily delivered in‐person (86.0%), and were free to participants (90.2%). Five responses indicated provision of support for other health and wellbeing issues, for example, mental health, assistance with debt. To improve future WMS service commissioning and delivery, WMS providers need to be allowed adequate time and resource to properly prepare for service delivery. Referral systems and criteria should be made clear and straightforward to both referrers and service users, and strategies to manage surplus referrals should be explored.
Subject
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism