Quality standard

Quality statement 6: Family involvement in lifestyle weight management programmes

Quality statement 6: Family involvement in lifestyle weight management programmes

Quality statement

Family members or carers of children and young people are invited to attend lifestyle weight management programmes, regardless of their weight.

Rationale

Family members and carers have an important role and responsibility in influencing the environment in which children and young people live. Therefore, actively involving family members and carers in the programme is important to ensure that children and young people receive positive reinforcement and support away from the programme. Involving the family and carers is also likely to make the programme more successful, change behaviour and lifestyle choices and improve BMI over time in children and young people. It may also benefit family members because they may have the same genetic and/or lifestyle risk factors for weight.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence that providers of lifestyle weight management programmes for children and young people invite family members or carers to attend, regardless of their weight.

Data source: Local data collection.

Process

Proportion of children and young people who attend a lifestyle weight management programme whose family members or carers have been invited to attend.

Numerator – the number in the denominator whose family members or carers have been invited to attend.

Denominator – the number of children and young people who attend a lifestyle weight management programme.

Data source: Local data collection.

Outcome

Family member attendance and involvement in lifestyle weight management programmes.

Data source: Local data collection.

Providers of lifestyle weight management programmes for children and young people ensure that they involve family members and carers in the programme and provide services that include the appropriate core components. Weight management programmes should emphasise the importance, and highlight the benefit, of family member involvement and encouragement.

Healthcare professionals and public health practitioners who deliver lifestyle weight management programmes for children and young people encourage the involvement of family members or carers.

Local authorities ensure that they commission lifestyle weight management programmes for children and young people that encourage family members and carers to be actively involved and contain the core components to involve family members. Local authorities require providers to report on how they have engaged family members and carers in the programme as part of their performance management and contract monitoring.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Family members or carers of children and young people identified as being overweight or obese are encouraged to be involved in the child's lifestyle weight management programme, regardless of their own weight. This may include receiving training and resources to support changes in behaviour or, if this is not possible, being provided with information on the aims of the programme. Family members are also encouraged to eat healthily and to be physically active, regardless of their weight.

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Lifestyle weight management programme

Lifestyle weight management programmes focus on diet, physical activity and behaviour change to help people who are overweight or obese. They are usually based in the community and may be run by the public, private or voluntary sector. [Adapted from NICE's guideline on weight management]

Equality and diversity considerations

Particular consideration needs to be given when engaging adult men in the programmes because they are often harder to involve than other family members. Consideration also needs to be given to the language needs of the child or young person accessing the programme, as well as their family members or carers. For some families, the child or young person may be the only English speaker in the family.