Consolidating International Care Models and Clinical Services for Adult Obesity.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This paper aims to analyze and consolidate the existing evidence on models of care and clinical obesity services for adults living with obesity 1) to identify the key components of clinical obesity services, and 2) to propose recommendations for future directions of promoting the international development of clinical obesity care.

Recent findings: The key components of clinical obesity services include 1) a contextualized composition of multi-disciplinary teams and mechanisms to empower the healthcare professionals, 2) clear stepwise pathways matching patient needs with appropriate clinical and community resources in a timely manner, 3) comprehensive assessment and individualized treatment plan informed by the evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Furthermore, clinical information systems and financing resources are instrumental to the effective and sustainable functioning of a comprehensive clinical service with strong connections across primary, secondary and tertiary levels of care. We synthesized these findings to make recommendations for healthcare practitioners, hospital administrations and policymakers in developing and improving comprehensive clinical services to address the needs of adults living with obesity.