Perceptions of obesity pharmacotherapy by nurse practitioners

Abstract

Five medications are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for chronic weight management, yet less than 2% of adults with obesity use these medications. The purpose of this study was to identify reasons nurse practitioners are reluctant to prescribe obesity pharmacotherapy. This was a cross-sectional study of a US sample of nurse practitioners. Questionnaires were administered online that evaluated practice patterns and attitudes concerning obesity pharmacotherapy. The survey was completed by 74 nurse practitioners, and of those, 17.6% prescribed obesity pharmacotherapy and 82.4% did not. Nurse practitioners who did and did not prescribe obesity pharmacotherapy had similar scores on weight bias. Nurse practitioners who did not prescribe obesity pharmacotherapy, compared with those who did, more often reported that patients do not ask for obesity pharmacotherapy (p = .01), patients did not want to use pharmacotherapy (p = .02), and that they were not familiar with obesity medications (p = .02). Although this survey was limited by a low response, we found many beliefs, opinions, and attitudes toward adults with obesity did not differ between the groups. However, nurse practitioners who did not prescribe obesity pharmacotherapy, compared with those who did, identified more barriers related to the lack of obesity pharmacotherapy awareness and education.