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INFLUENCING PATIENT BEHAVIOR
ENACT STRATEGY: Health Screenings
Adopt standards of practice that include routine screening of all patients regarding physical activity and eating behavior.
Emphasizing prevention can be as simple as routine screenings during doctor visits. As more and more chronic diseases and other negative health outcomes are being linked to poor diet and lack of physical activity, screening patients regarding these behaviors can be a powerful tool for prevention. Physicians, medical groups, and hospitals should adopt standards to include this practice in doctors’ visits with patients.
Characteristics
- Training of physicians (and other medical providers) to implement quick, routine screenings during office visits
- Lack of barriers to screening practices
- Culturally competent and sensitive
- Recognition and in-depth knowledge of chronic medical conditions that require regular, long-term maintenance
- Include time for screening during office visit time allocation
- Screening of all patients, not just those “at-risk“
- Standard set of questions to include in screening
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Tools
Bright Futures in Practice: Nutrition
Emphasizes prevention and early recognition of nutrition concerns and provides developmentally appropriate nutrition supervision guidelines for infancy through adolescence. The guide contains strategies and tools to help health professionals provide nutrition supervision (including screening, assessment, and counseling) and promotes partnerships with families and communities.
Bright Futures in Practice: Physical Activity
Provides current information on screening, assessment, and counseling to promote physical activity and to meet the needs of health professionals, families, and communities.
Recommendations for Preventative Pediatric Health Care (PDF)
Published by The American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, the recommendations provide information on when screenings should be incorporated into the managed care of children and youth.
The Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, Second Edition
Dedicates an entire section to screening for different negative health consequences. Many nutrition and physical activity related conditions are included, including Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity.
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Policies
 San Diego Obesity Action Plan
San Diego County has developed an action plan to improve nutrition and activity environments. Page 6 of the plan, "A Call to Action 2," calls on health care providers to incorporate prevention into their practice, and lays out some steps for doing so. Page 6 of the plan calls on health care providers, calls on health care providers to See page "A Call to Action 2" on page 6 of the Action Plan for details.
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Organizations and Coalitions
California’s Child Health and Disability Prevention Program
Offers various resources for preventive care for children and youth. Through this program, eligible children and youth receive periodic preventive health assessments.
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