Teen CHAT: Improving Physician Communication With Adolescents About Healthy Weight

The purpose of this study is to teach primary care physicians effective ways to counsel overweight and obese adolescent patients to attain a healthy weight. Fifty physicians and up to 660 adolescent patients from Duke University Health System (DUHS) Primary Care Clinics will take part in this study.

Patients will be identified by research study staff and asked if they would be willing to have their clinic visit audio recorded for research purposes. There are three phases of data collection. First, baseline encounters (n=200, 4 per physician) are audio recorded. Then, half of the physicians will be randomized to receive a tailored web-based intervention containing information about evidence-based techniques to help adolescents attain a healthy weight. A new set of 200 encounters (4 per physician) will be audio recorded. Then, all physicians will receive a Summary Report that outlines the adolescent's high risk behaviors that contribute to weight (sweetened beverages, fast food, breakfast, physical activity, screen time, and sleep) and a new set of 200 encounters will be audio recorded.

Data will be collected by trained data technicians, in-person and over the phone. Data is collected on laptop computers and then downloaded into password protected electronic files on a secure network server. All participants (adolescent patients and physicians) will be assigned a code number that is the sole identifier on all study data forms. Prior to and after coding, digital files will be stored in password protected directories to which only the data technicians and project manager have access. The web-based intervention will be password protected.