Evaluation of a Patient-Care Planning Intervention to Improve Appointment Attendance by Adults After Bariatric Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Bariatric surgery is recognized as a durable treatment for severe obesity; however, high rates of nonattendance and patient engagement during the postoperative period remain challenges. This pre/post study evaluates a quality-improvement initiative to improve attendance at bariatric surgery program appointments and to heighten program efficiency, as measured by appointment attendance, cancellations and new assessments. METHODS: Patients and staff were consulted in order to identify causes for patient attrition after surgery. The ideas for change that were implemented were advance care-planning calls and e-mails in order to tailor appointments to patients' needs and an online application of follow-up care information. Online surveys were used to assess patient satisfaction. After several plan-do-study-act cycles, appointment attendance rates for 5,676 appointments between April 1, 2014, and May 29, 2015, were compared pre- and post-quality improvement intervention. For the intervention, 1,294 patients were called, representing 4,124 appointments. Both preoperative and postoperative attendance rates and costs were examined. RESULTS: Although postoperative attendance and no-show rates changed by only 1.8% postintervention, advance cancellations increased by 6%; indications of special-cause variation were attributable to the intervention. With advance cancellations increasing, time was available for preoperative and nonroutine postoperative appointments, refilling 6.6 appointments per week. As a result, cost savings were $21,251 based on unused clinician time. The contact rate of patients was 45%, and patient satisfaction was high. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this quality-improvement intervention was able to improve patient-centred care and clinic efficiency through the use of advance-care planning as evaluated by appointment attendance data and patient satisfaction surveys.

Predictors of Vitamin Adherence After Bariatric Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin supplementation in bariatric aftercare is essential to prevent nutrient deficiencies; however, rates of vitamin adherence have been as low as 30 % 6 months post-surgery. Preliminary literature suggests non-adherence to prescribed treatments can be linked to demographic and psychological factors. We aimed to determine the relationship between these factors to vitamin adherence in post-bariatric surgery patients. METHODS: A total of 92 bariatric patients were assessed 6 months post-surgery. Patients were administered a questionnaire collecting demographic information, psychological scores, and self-reported adherence. Nutrient deficiencies were analyzed through serum vitamin levels measured 3 and 6 months after surgery. Wilcoxon rank-sum and chi-square tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: Non-adherence was associated with male sex and full-time employment (p = 0.027, p = 0.015). There were no differences with respect to living situation, education level, or relationship type. Non-adherent patients did not have significantly higher scores for generalized anxiety, depressive symptoms, or avoidant behaviors. However, non-adherent patients displayed greater attachment anxiety than their adherent counterparts (p = 0.0186). Non-adherence was also associated with lower vitamin B12 levels 6 months post-surgery (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Male gender and full-time work have previously been shown to be associated with non-adherence. This is the first study to demonstrate that attachment anxiety is associated with poor multivitamin adherence in the post-surgical bariatric population. This result is concordant with recent literature that has demonstrated attachment anxiety is associated with poor adherence to dietary recommendations in bariatric patients 6 months postoperatively. Presurgical screening for attachment anxiety could facilitate early interventions to promote better bariatric aftercare in this group.

Examining Nutrition Knowledge of Bariatric Surgery Patients: What Happens to Dietary Knowledge over Time?

BACKGROUND: Nutrition education is a standard of care in bariatric surgery clinical practice guidelines. Despite its known importance, no studies have documented the trajectory of nutrition knowledge over the course of the bariatric surgery process. Primary objectives included determining changes in bariatric surgery nutrition knowledge scores from the pre-surgical phase to 1-month post-surgical intervention and investigating the impact of time on nutrition education retention in bariatric patients. Secondary objectives focused on the relationship between patients' pre-operative anxiety and depression on nutrition knowledge retention. METHODS: Prior to data collection, patients attended a nutrition education class and met with a registered dietitian. One hundred and nineteen consented patients eligible for bariatric surgery completed a nutrition knowledge questionnaire, Eating After Bariatric Surgery (EABS) prior to and 1 month following bariatric surgery. RESULTS: Analyses revealed (1) patients' nutrition knowledge (measured by EABS) significantly increased from the pre-operative phase (M = 46.9; SD = 14.4) to the post-operative phase ((M = 56.9; SD = 14.1), t(118) = -8.01, p < .001); (2) time between the nutrition education class and patients' surgery significantly impacted knowledge retained; (3) patients with higher pre-operative levels of depression and anxiety had significantly lower post-operative nutrition knowledge; and (4) gender differences in terms of patients' nutrition knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that dietary knowledge significantly improves following surgical intervention. Furthermore, increased time in between receiving nutrition knowledge and surgery resulted in less retained knowledge 1-month post-op. Future education interventions for bariatric surgery programs should focus on addressing these factors to optimize patient knowledge and information retention after surgery.

Night eating and loss of control over eating in bariatric surgery candidates.

The goal was to examine the relationship between loss of control over eating (LOCE) and other variables, including eating pathology, in bariatric candidates. Two hundred and twenty-six participants completed measures of depressive symptoms, eating pathology, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and alcohol use. Participants were divided into those who did (n = 123) and did not (n = 103) report subjective LOCE. Participants with LOCE had significantly higher levels of night eating, depressive symptoms, and eating disorder psychopathology and lower mental HRQOL. There were no observed differences in alcohol use, dietary restraint, or physical HRQOL. This study highlights eating and mental health-related correlates of LOCE, providing evidence that it is associated with increased psychological burden in bariatric candidates. This is one of the first studies to report the relationship between LOCE and night eating in this group and future research could elaborate on these variables to determine their importance in long-term weight loss.

Self-reported causes of weight gain: among prebariatric surgery patients.

PURPOSE: Bariatric surgery is accepted by the medical community as the most effective treatment for obesity; however, weight regain after surgery remains common. Long-term weight loss and weight maintenance may be aided when dietitians who provide perioperative care understand the causes of weight gain leading to bariatric surgery. In this study, the most common causes for weight gain were examined among prebariatric surgery patients. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 160 patients enrolled in a bariatric surgery program. Data were collected for 20 variables: puberty, pregnancy, menopause, change in living environment, change in job/career, financial problems, quitting smoking, drug or alcohol use, medical condition, surgery, injury affecting mobility, chronic pain, dieting, others' influence over diet, abuse, mental health condition, stress, death of a loved one, divorce/end of a relationship, and other causes. Frequency distribution and chi-square tests were performed using SPSS. RESULTS: Sixty-three percent of participants selected stress as a cause of weight gain, while 56% selected dieting. Significant differences existed between women and men in the selection of dieting and change in living environment. CONCLUSIONS: This information may allow dietitians to better identify causes for weight gain leading to bariatric surgery, and to address these causes appropriately before and after surgery.