WEIGHT LOSS STRATEGIES FOR YOUNG OBESE LATINA WOMEN: AN EVIDENCE-BASED TOOL KIT

Latina women are disproportionately affected by obesity. The prevalence rate of obesity in Latina women is 45.1% compared to a prevalence rate of 35.5% for all women (Agne et al., 2012). Given the prevalence of obesity in Latina women, the purpose of this project was to create a toolkit that provided advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in primary care with specific resources to assist in counseling these women about weight reduction. This toolkit was designed to include tailored, evidence-based weight loss and management strategies that incorporate easy to access resources to address facilitators and barriers to weight reduction and maintenance in Latina women. An assessment algorithm was developed to aid APRNs in determining which approaches might be effective for a particular patient. Obesity among young Latina women will continue to be a challenge in future of healthcare. APRNs specializing in women’s health and primary care have the knowledge and expertise to positively impact long-term change and promote weight loss and maintenance among this population. The findings and recommended resources from this toolkit will assist the APRN in caring for this specific population to promote weight loss and maintenance. It is imperative that the APRN performs a thorough multi-faceted assessment to plan for reasonable weight loss and assist with implementing realistic weight loss strategies that are evidence-based and culturally tailored for the young, obese Latina population. Dissemination of the toolkit is planned at professional meeting or through web publishing. A simple evaluation tool iv about the usefulness of the toolkit was developed as part of this project and APRNs receiving the toolkit will be asked to rate its usefulness and applicability to practice.