2912-LB: Facilitating Patient and Provider Conversations on Obesity Management in Primary Care

Introduction and Objective: American Diabetes Association (ADA) national guidelines recommend primary care providers engage in conversations about obesity. However, there is limited guidance on how to effectively have these conversations. To address this need, ADA created a training program for primary care practices aimed at reducing weight-related stigma and promoting patient-centered inclusive communication. Methods: ADA and DARTNet recruited 50 primary care practices that participated in a 90-minute program delivered by pre-recorded lecture and facilitated discussion. Participants were multidisciplinary members of the primary care team. Data collection included pre- and post-surveys on knowledge and attitudes, practice facilitator notes, and qualitative interviews. Results: A total of 250 participants completed the training. Of these, 54% were satisfied with the training and 71% were satisfied with the practice facilitated discussion. Participants reported improvements in confidence recognizing and addressing internalized stigma (83%), mindfulness of nonverbal cues (87%), and applying strategies to reduce weight bias and stigma (86%). Strategies the participants' intent to implement are summarized in Figure 1. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the feasibility of brief stigma-reduction training in primary care and highlight areas for further improvement, including integrating bias and stigma training with treatment and care planning. Disclosure M. Leonard: None. O. Ebekozien: None. L. Zittleman: None.