Objectives: To identify behavioral and personal characteristics of child health care (CHC) practitioners that influences the effect of early overweight prevention in children.
Methods: In total 216 questionnaires were filled out by CHC practitioners from four organizations in the Netherlands.
Results: There is a gap between awareness of the problem overweight in early childhood and actually discussing this with parents, as well as a gap between the existing recommendations and the perceived importance of early overweight prevention. Despite the fact that nurses have a more central task in life-style support than physicians, they reported to have less knowledge and skills than physicians.
Conclusions: While both CHC physicians and nurses need support in improving their knowledge and skills, it is the nurses who need more support. A more structured and tailored implementation strategy with more emphasis on the needs of the nurses and physicians may improve early overweight management.
Keywords: Child health care; Children; Nurses; Overweight; Prevention.
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