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RRP 07-290 – QUERI Project

 
RRP 07-290
Development of MOVE! Education Materials for Veterans with SCI
Suparna Rajan, PhD MS
VA Puget Sound Health Care System Seattle Division, Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA
Funding Period: May 2008 - May 2010
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Nearly 66% of individuals with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D) are either overweight or obese. While the VHAs Managing Obesity in Veterans Everywhere (MOVE!) program is a promising intervention for weight management, materials and tools to specifically engage Veterans with SCI/D in the program are lacking. Adapting MOVE! education materials specifically for this population is an essential step to support weight management efforts and help increase the number of patients with SCI/D willing to participate in the program.

OBJECTIVE(S):
This study developed or adpated weight management educational materials for Veterans with SCI/D who participate in the VHA's MOVE! weight management program.

METHODS:
This project was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, educational materials geared towards weight management and physical activity for poeple with SCI/D were identified, gathered and evaluated. Then, current materials on the VA's MOVE! program web site were adpated for Veteran's with SCI/D and, when necessary new materials were developed. The second phase focussed on obtaining feedback on the adpated and newly developed materials from an expert panel. In the third phase, materials were reviewed by a convenience sampe of Veterans with SCI/D.

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
MOVE! materials requiring adaptation for people with SCI/D were primarily focused on physical activity with fewer focused on behavior change. Twenty-two educational materials were adapted from existing MOVE! materials and 5 new pamphlets were developed. Modifications to existing pamphlets included inclusion of wheelchair activities and photographs, safety tips, and ideas to overcome SCI/D-specific barriers to performing physical activities. Newly created pamphlets focused on aspects unique to individuals with SCI/D to perform physical activity safely. Expert panel feedback was obtained for all pamphlets and was helpful in further refining materials. Feedback provided by a convenience sample of Veterans was too nonspecific to help refine materials.

IMPACT:
The educational materials developed and tested in this RRP will provide information and help for managing weight problems in individuals with SCI/D. These materials will be used in future implementation studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the MOVE! program extended for Veterans with SCI/D.


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PUBLICATIONS:

None at this time.


DRA: none
DRE: Prevention
Keywords: Education (patient), Self-care, Spinal cord injury
MeSH Terms: none

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