Pediatric Obesity ECHO provides expert medical care for kids in rural communities

Pediatric Obesity ECHO provides expert medical care for kids in rural communities

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | Communications and Media Relations Specialist | 405-744-9782 | [email protected]

The Oklahoma State University Pediatric Obesity Project ECHO is transforming lives by addressing childhood obesity early, equipping health care and school professionals with the tools needed to make an impact.

The Pediatric Obesity ECHO was established in 2017 to improve understanding and care capabilities for both medical providers and school health professionals in managing patients with excess weight. It utilizes evidence-based knowledge and case-based learning to support children and families in leading healthier lives.

"Our whole goal for this ECHO is to help providers in the community and in rural Oklahoma, understand how to better care for our pediatric patient population that may carry excess weight," said Dr. Kelly Murray, OSU Center for Health Sciences clinical professor of clinical pharmacy. "We have a growing population of pediatrics who are being diagnosed with obesity, which is most definitely impactful for not only what providers are treating at that exact moment, but also the consequences that can come about from that diagnosis for later in life."

Children who carry excess weight are more likely to be diagnosed with high blood pressure, hypertension or type two diabetes, which can have further consequences in adulthood, Murray said.

Using Project ECHO's virtual platform, the multidisciplinary team - with more than 50 years of combined experience in obesity prevention and treatment - takes specialist care and knowledge to providers in rural areas every Tuesday from noon-1:15 p.m.

"A person in rural Oklahoma may not have the same access to care from specialists like a board-certified pediatric obesity medicine physician or a dietitian who can help advise a family on how better to care for or prepare food for a child who has excess weight," Murray said. "When a provider joins our ECHO line, they are able to have access to that entire team of professionals with expertise in obesity medicine and pediatrics specifically to then ask them questions, to gain knowledge about how we can better care for that kiddo who is out in rural Oklahoma, who potentially would have to drive four, five, six hours to get to Tulsa or Oklahoma City where these specialists exist."

The hub team said the reason these sessions work is because information sharing is more than just a presentation, it's a highway with knowledge going in both directions.

"It's not just us teaching our spoke sites or those that join us. We learn so much from the providers that are practicing out in rural Oklahoma," Murray said. "They bring so much information to the table to us as well, that we're all teaching and we're all learning at the exact same time. It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship with our spoke sites."

In the last year, this ECHO line held 35 sessions reaching more than 480 participants across the country and awarded 417 continuing medical education credits.

Through the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute, the hub team has been trying to broaden the scope of the ECHO line, encouraging those outside the medical field to participate.

"Medical professionals are still very much welcome and encouraged to join because we are talking about patients, but also this is educational, and you don't have to be a health professional per se to participate and learn from it," said Dr. Kerry Morgan, University of Central Oklahoma associate professor of public health.

Those who work with youth, such as school counselors, administrators, educators and nurses, are encouraged to join to get ideas for physical activity and nutrition and to share their insights.

The ECHO line covers a wide range of topics from weight effects of medications and food insecurity/scarcity to weight-based victimization. They also discuss therapeutic approaches to prevention, family-based health interventions and behavioral strategies to support change.

But the topics don't stop there.

"If someone, such as a social worker, dietitian, or school professional, had a case that they wanted to submit to gain insight on how to assist a child and their caretakers, we would love that they submit their case for discussion," Morgan said. "It's a great way to participate."

To get the most accurate evidence-based information to people where they are.

"We've got this beautiful, well-rounded approach to caring for these patients in Oklahoma to boost the knowledge base of our rural providers," Murray said. "When you join the ECHO line, you get access to a file of knowledge and of presentations that have been given in the past to download and use to refresh knowledge.

"Our whole goal on our Project ECHO lines is to democratize knowledge. We want to share knowledge with anyone who joins us, so they then can be the experts within their specific rural environment. We want you to ask us questions, and we want you to bring those patient cases and allow us to help you take care of these patients in Oklahoma to hopefully better see a result and an impact for our community at large."

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