title: Development of an instrument to assess nurse practitioner attitudes and beliefs about obesity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity has been identified as the number one health problem in the United States. Estimates are that almost 70% of adults are overweight or obese. The care received by these individuals may be influenced by their weight status. The purpose of this study was to describe the self-reported attitudes and beliefs of nurse practitioners (NPs) toward this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from 358 NPs who were attending a national conference. Each participant completed the investigator-developed survey, which assessed attitudes and beliefs, and provided limited demographic information so that the study population could be described.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scores indicate that these NPs perceived overweight and obese persons to be (1) not as good as others, (2) not as successful as others, (3) not suitable for marriage, (4) untidy, and (5) not as healthy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While bias exists with respect to overweight and obese persons, awareness and knowledge of one's personal bias is the first step in preventing this perception to influence care. Educational forums should include a personal assessment and interventions aimed at minimizing the effect one's attitude and belief has on the delivery of respectful care.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri.
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ward-Smith
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri.
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Obesity; beliefs; descriptive research; disparities; factor analysis; instrument development; nurse practitioners