Disseminating the New Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline for Managing Pediatric Obesity to Healthcare Providers: A Knowledge Translation Project

We are part of the Obesity Canada team developing the Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline for Managing Pediatric Obesity. Over the last 3 years we have worked together to summarize the best practices in obesity care. Our team consists of researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience (i.e., caregivers of children and youth living with obesity). The number of children and youth living with obesity has nearly tripled over the last 30 years. Approximately 25-30% of children and youth live with obesity in Canada. Obesity can put children and youth at-risk of developing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and mental health conditions (e.g., depression or anxiety). Children and youth who live with obesity may experience stigma and discrimination. This discrimination is also present in healthcare settings. Obesity is complex, but it is also manageable. In 2006, the first Clinical Practice Guideline was developed to help healthcare providers care for patients with obesity. Since that time, new methods have been developed and new research on how to treat pediatric obesity has arose. It is time to update the Clinical Practice Guideline so we can help healthcare providers better support their patients who live with obesity. We started updating the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Managing Pediatric Obesity in 2019. This new Clinical Practice Guideline will be released this Fall. We used a Knowledge Translation Planning Template and Dissemination Tool to support the launch of the Clinical Practice Guideline. Our objectives are to design the Clinical Practice Guideline with team members and share the Clinical Practice Guideline with healthcare providers. Working as a team, we will design a variety of tools (e.g., logo, quick guide, series of infographics, video, educational slideshow). These tools will be available in English and French. These tools will be shared on Obesity Canada's website and through their listservs (with over 50,000 members).