The Centre for Obesity Management and Prevention Research Excellence in Primary Health Care (COMPaRE-PHC) is a multi-institution centre of research excellence focusing on preventing and managing obesity through primary health care. It has five national partners across three states and three international partners (UK, USA and NZ). Four of the national partners are universities and one is a health service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Each of the 20 investigators is a research leader in their own right. The team brings a range of disciplines and research backgrounds including health economics, epidemiology, clinical services research, and knowledge translation.
COMPaRE-PHC has three research streams: families with young children, disadvantaged populations and implementation of guidelines. Research projects include a trial of a mobile phone based (‘m-health’) intervention for disadvantaged mothers with infants, two trials of obesity interventions in general practice (one with patients with low health literacy), a study of barriers to referral of obese patients, and a cost effectiveness study of an intervention that aimed to improve preventive practices in general practice. Outputs to date include 8 peer reviewed journal articles and 51 conference papers and a variety of tools for use in primary health care. The Centre also has a capacity-building program that funds 4 postgraduate students and 4 postdoctoral positions, with multi-institution supervision provided to those early career researchers.
COMPaRE-PHC has a specific plan for knowledge translation and exchange across the collaboration and within each research project. Information has been distributed through a website, an e-newsletter and public media as well as through traditional journal articles. The website provides information on COMPaRE-PHC research projects and publications and links to other information and resources. A bimonthly e-newsletter keeps interested parties up to date on COMPaRE-PHC research and relevant research. Following consultations with Medicare Locals/Primary Health Networks to investigate what the Centre could do to support them in addressing obesity, short topic summaries, information about systematic reviews, and information about what other PHNs were doing in relation to obesity,[1] were added to the website. Resources were also developed for COMPaRE-PHC investigators and students to assist with engaging media and disseminating journal articles.
Researchers have linked with policy makers and service providers through events such as local presentations (20), workshops (9), policy roundtable discussions (most involving international experts brought to Australia by COMPaRE-PHC) (7) and COMPaRE-PHC forums (2). Consultations have included the NSW Office of Preventative Health (to use results in service development) and the Department of Premier and Cabinet; the NHMRC Preventive and Community Medicine Committee; the National Prescribing Service (preventive health education programs); RACGP SNAP guidelines; Medicare Locals (use of research in service decision making and planning; educational materials and resources were adopted in the South West Sydney Medicare Local 5As Preventive Health Program).
End users have been involved in COMPaRE-PHC activities where possible: for example the Growing healthy project has a consumer advisory group and its intervention was developed via a process of extensive consultation with clinicians and consumers. The Counterweight feasibility trial in Adelaide has worked closely with North Adelaide Medicare Local to implement the trial in their area. The COMPaRE-PHC Advisory Committee includes members from state and national health departments, professional organisations (e.g. RACGP and APNA) and a consumer representative.
COMPaRE-PHC uses its program of hosting visits from international experts to support knowledge transfer and exchange. In 2014 Professor Iain Broom (Counterweight Program and Robert Gordon University) contributed to roundtable discussions with policy makers and workshops targeting Medicare Locals. As a result the Counterweight program is now being trialled in Adelaide and the Northern Health Network will continue to implement the program after the trial ends. Barbara Docherty from University of Auckland’s Training and Development Services conducted a workshop in Sydney for clinicians on communicating with overweight or obese patients.
The work of COMPaRE-PHC has already informed the development of the RACGP SNAP guide for the management of the behavioural risk factors in general practice and the implementation of the NHMRC Obesity Guidelines by Medicare Locals.
Cameron AJ, Spence AC, Laws R, Hesketh KD, Lioret S, Campbell KJ (2015) A Review of the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Position and the Early-Life Predictors of Obesity. Current Obesity Reports:1-13 doi:10.1007/s13679-015-0168-5
Denney-Wilson E, et al. (2015) Preventing obesity in infants: the Growing healthy feasibility trial protocol. BMJ Open 5(11) doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009258
Denney-Wilson E, Robinson A, Laws R, Harris MF (2014) Development and feasibility of a child obesity prevention intervention in general practice: The Healthy 4 Life pilot study. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health doi:10.1111/jpc.12671
Faruqi N, et al. (2015) Primary healthcare-level interventions improving health literacy for weight loss: A systematic review of the literature. BMC Obesity 2(6):6 doi:10.1186/s40608-015-0035-7
Faruqi N, Stocks N, Spooner C, Haddad Ne, Harris M (2015) Research Protocol: Management of obesity in patients with low health literacy in primary health care. BMC Obesity 2(5) doi:10.1186/s40608-015-0036-6
Harris MF, Spooner CJ (2014) Weight loss options in general practice. The Medical Journal of Australia 201(4):184-5
Kim KK, Yeong L-L, Caterson ID, Harris MF (2015) Analysis of factors influencing general practitioners' decision to refer obese patients in Australia: a qualitative study. BMC Family Practice 16(45) doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0262-5
Laws R, et al. (2014) The impact of interventions to prevent obesity or improve obesity related behaviours in children (0-5 years) from socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or indigenous families: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 14(1):779
Laws R, et al. (2015) Obesity prevention in early life: an opportunity to better support the role of Maternal and Child Health Nurses in Australia. BMC Nurs 14:26 doi:10.1186/s12912-015-0077-7
