The effect of an education module to reduce weight bias among medical centers employees: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction: Weight bias, stigma, and discrimination are common among healthcare professionals. We aimed to evaluate whether an online education module affects weight bias and knowledge about obesity in a private medical center setting. Methods: An open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted among all employees of a chain of private medical centers in Israel (n=3,290). Employees who confirmed their consent to participate in the study were randomized into intervention or control (i.e., 'no intervention') arms. The study intervention was an online 15-minute educational module that included obesity, weight bias, stigma, and discrimination information. Questionnaires on Anti-Fat Attitudes ('AFA'), fat-phobia ('F-scale), and beliefs about the causes of obesity were answered at baseline (i.e., right before the intervention), 7-days, and 30-days post-intervention. Results: A total of 506, 230, and 145 employees responded to the baseline, 7-day, and 30-day post-intervention questionnaires, respectively. Mean participant age was 43.3±11.6 years, 84.6% were women, and 67.4% held an academic degree. Mean F-scale scores and percentage of participants with above-average fat-phobic attitudes (≥3.6) significantly decreased only within the intervention group over time (P≤0.042). However, no significant differences between groups over time were observed for AFA scores or factors beliefs to cause obesity. Conclusions: A single exposure to an online education module on weight bias and knowledge about obesity may confer only a modest short-term improvement in medical center employees fat-phobic attitudes toward people with obesity. Future studies should examine if re-exposure to such intervention could impact weight bias, stigma, and discrimination among medical center staff in the long-term.