The PROMINENCE consortium is pleased to announce the publication of our new research paper, “Obesity competencies for healthcare professionals: a scoping review”, in BMC Medical Education, a peer-reviewed open access journal.
 

Multiple obesity-related competencies for healthcare professionals (HCPs) were identified in the published literature. These were classified into eleven key domains: Obesity Background, Clinical Assessment, Clinical Management, Evidence-Based Practice, Communication, Professionalism/Ethical Standards, Patient-Centred Care, Advocacy/Influencing Policy, HCP Education, Public Health/Health Promotion, and Health Systems.
 

Many identified competencies apply across HCP disciplines, whilst some are unique to a single discipline's scope of practice (e.g., surgical  competencies).  Additionally, reflecting more recent evidence regarding obesity prevention and management will probably require the generation of  new or rearticulated  competencies for HCPs.
 

Findings from this review will inform HCP curriculum developers, Healthcare professionals, and Obesity organisations wishing to develop both mono- and multidisciplinary competency frameworks and related curricula with a view to driving comprehensive, competency-based obesity education for HCPs.
 

The paper highlights key findings from our collaborative work and is available directly on the BMC Medical Education website here or for download here.