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NCT Number: NCT05482802

The Exploration of an Active Training Tool to Reduce Weight Bias Among Students Pursuing a Healthcare-related Degree

An open-label parallel RCT will be conducted among 220 students pursuing a health-related degree at Ariel university. The intervention tool will be based on the constructive social learning model and will include a short lecture on obesity, scenarios simulating a meeting between health professionals and patients with obesity that will be presented by professional role-players and include varying degrees of weight bias, stigma and discrimination, and an open discourse with a patient with obesity. The tool's development will be carried out throughout recommended steps including a comprehensive literature review, preparation of a preliminary draft of the plan, evaluation of the planned intervention tool in terms of content validity, and a pilot testing of the tool among n=15 students from the target population.

The control group will receive a short-written document on obesity. This study will utilize an embedded mixed-method approach. At baseline, one- and six- weeks post-intervention both groups will be asked to fill an anonymous online survey which will include demographics, weight and body perception, knowledge about obesity, the Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire, the Short-Form of Fat-Phobia scale, and the Weight-Implicit Association-Test. Moreover, in-depth interviews will be conducted among 15 participants from each group.

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Key information

Conditions

Obesity Bias Behavior Prejudice Social Behavior Weight Prejudice

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Ariel University

Ariel, 40700, Israel

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • undergraduate students pursuing a healthcare-related degree including nutrition science, health systems management, communication disorders, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and nursing at Ariel university
  • age ≥18 years
  • willingness to participate in the study.

Treatment and study plan

An active training tool on weight bias and knowledge about obesity

Behavioral

The intervention will take place at the university simulation center and include three components. First, a short lecture on obesity and weight bias. Second, four scenarios that simulate meetings between health professionals and people with obesity which will be presented by professional role-players in sequence. Each scenario will include a different therapeutic situation and include varying degrees of weight bias, stigma, and discrimination to stimulate students to think and react. Third, an active open discourse with a person with obesity will be held.

A short-written document on obesity

Behavioral

A short-written document on obesity which will be based on current literature.

Primary outcomes

  1. Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire ('AFA')

    Time frame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention

    The 'AFA' indicates explicit anti-fat attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 13-items rated on a 10-point Likert scale and divided into three subscales ('dislike', 'fear about fat' and 'willpower'), with higher total scores indicating stronger anti-fat attitudes.

  2. The short-form of fat-phobia scale (' F-scale')

    Time frame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention

    The 'F-scale' indicates fat-phobic attitudes toward people with obesity and is composed of 14-pairs of adjectives that are used to describe people with obesity (e.g., 'no willpower' vs. 'has willpower') and ranked on a 1-5 scale according to the point closest to the adjective name that describes their feelings and beliefs. Higher scores indicate stronger fat-phobic attitudes.

  3. Weight Implicit Association Test ('IAT')

    Time frame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention

    IAT tool is an indirect measure of implicit bias toward weight which uses the constructs of "fat people" versus "thin people" and the polarized attitudes of "good" and "bad" to detect implicit weight bias.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Knowledge about obesity

    Time frame: Change from baseline at six- weeks post-intervention

    Knowledge about obesity will be assessed by five questions that were written by the research team according to current literature.

Other outcomes

  1. Demographics

    Time frame: At baseline

    Questions regarding age, gender, occupation, marital status, religious affiliation, department of studies.

  2. Body perception

    Time frame: At baseline

    Body Appreciation Scale-2 is a 10-item scale which ranked on a 1-5 scale and assesses acceptance and/or favorable opinions towards a person's body.

  3. Weight perception

    Time frame: At baseline

    Questions regarding self-definition of weight status, the importance of weight to self-confidence, and much control a person has over the weight.

  4. Weight history

    Time frame: At baseline

    Questions regarding current weight and height, obesity during childhood, obesity during last decade, family members who struggle with obesity, currently in any process of losing weight.

  5. Objective weight measurement

    Time frame: At baseline

    Measurement of actual weight in kilograms.

  6. Objective height measurement

    Time frame: At baseline

    Measurement of actual height in meters.

  7. Semi structured interviews

    Time frame: At six- weeks post-intervention

    Fifteen participants from each study group will be randomly chosen for conducting a semi-structured interviews. The interviews will take place six weeks post-intervention and will provide in-depth, detailed information regarding the participants' views of obesity and stigma after conducting the intervention.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ariel University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Aug 1, 2022
Registry last updated
Dec 22, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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