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Objective: The increasing prevalence of and inequities in childhood obesity demand improved access to effective treatment. The SmartMoves curriculum used in Bright Bodies, a proven‐effective, intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment (IHBLT), was disseminated to ≥30 US sites from 2003 to 2018. We aimed to identify barriers to and facilitators of IHBLT implementation/sustainment. Methods: We surveyed and interviewed key informants about experiences acquiring/implementing SmartMoves. In parallel, we analyzed and then integrated survey findings and themes from interviews using the constant comparative method. Results: Participants from 16 sites (53%) completed surveys, and 12 participants at 10 sites completed interviews. The 11 sites (63%) that implemented SmartMoves varied in both use of training opportunities/materials and fidelity to program components. In interviews, demand for obesity programming, organizational priorities, and partnerships facilitated implementation. Seven sites discontinued SmartMoves prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Funding insecurity and insufficient staffing emerged as dominant barriers to implementation/sustainment discussed by all interviewees, and some also noted participants' competing demands and the program's fit with population as challenges. Conclusions: System‐ and organizational‐level barriers impeded sustainment of an evidence‐based IHBLT program. Adequate funding could enable sufficient staffing and training to promote fidelity to the intervention's core functions and adaptation to fit local populations/context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe the impacts of four Veterans Health Administration (VA) Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) projects implementing an evidence‐based lifestyle intervention known as the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Data Sources and Study Setting: 2012–2024 VA administrative and survey data. Study Design: This is a summary of findings and impacts from four effectiveness‐implementation projects focused on in‐person and/or online DPP across VA sites. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: Patient demographics, participation data, and key findings and impacts were summarized across reports from the VA Diabetes‐Mellitus Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI‐DM) Diabetes Prevention Program (VA DPP) Trial, QUERI‐DM Online DPP Trial, the Enhancing Mental and Physical Health of Women through Engagement and Retention (EMPOWER) QUERI DPP Project, and EMPOWER 2.0 QUERI Program. Principal Findings: Between 2012 and 2024, four VA QUERI studies enrolled 963 Veterans in DPP across 16 VA sites. All participants had overweight/obesity with one additional risk factor for type 2 diabetes (i.e., prediabetes, elevated risk score, or history of gestational diabetes) and 56% (N = 536) were women. In addition to enhancing the reach of and engagement in diabetes prevention services among Veterans, these projects resulted in three key impacts as follows: (1) informing the national redesign of VA MOVE! including recommendations to increase the number of MOVE! sessions and revise guidelines across 150+ VA sites, (2) enhancing the national evidence base to support online DPP delivery options with citations in national care guidelines outside VA, and (3) demonstrating the importance of gender‐tailoring of preventive care services by and for women Veterans to enhance engagement in preventive services. Conclusions: Over the past decade, the evolution of VA QUERI DPP projects increased the reach of and engagement in diabetes prevention services among Veterans, including women Veterans who have been harder to engage in lifestyle change programs in VA, and resulted in three key impacts informing type 2 diabetes and obesity prevention efforts within and outside of VA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test effectiveness of the LEAP (Learn Engage Act Process) Program on engaging frontline Veteran Health Administration (VHA) medical center teams in continuous quality improvement (QI), a core capability for learning health systems. Data Sources and Study Setting: Data sources included VHA electronic health record (EHR) data, surveys, and LEAP coaching field notes. Study Design: A staggered difference‐in‐differences study was conducted. Fifty‐five facilities participated in LEAP across eight randomly assigned clusters of 6–8 facilities per cluster over 2 years. Non‐participating facilities were used as controls. A MOVE! weight management program team completed a Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act cycle of change supported by learning curriculum, coaching, and virtual collaboratives in LEAP facilities. Primary outcome was program reach to Veterans. A mixed‐effects model compared pre‐ versus post‐LEAP periods for LEAP versus control facilities. LEAP adherence, satisfaction, and cost to deliver LEAP were evaluated. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: Thirty months of facility‐level EHR MOVE! enrollment data were included in analyses. LEAP Satisfaction and QI skills were elicited via surveys at baseline and 6‐month post‐LEAP. Principal findings: Fifty‐five facilities were randomly assigned to eight time‐period‐based clusters to receive LEAP (71% completed LEAP) and 82 non‐participating facilities were randomly assigned as controls. Reach in LEAP and control facilities was comparable in the 12‐month pre‐LEAP period (p = 0.07). Though LEAP facilities experienced slower decline in reach in the 12‐month post‐LEAP period compared with controls (p < 0.001), this is likely due to unexplained fluctuations in controls. For LEAP facilities, satisfaction was high (all mean ratings >4 on a 5‐point scale), self‐reported use of QI methods increased significantly (p‐values <0.05) 6 months post‐LEAP, and delivery cost was $4024 per facility‐based team. Conclusion: Control facilities experienced declining reach in the 12‐month post‐LEAP period, but LEAP facilities did not, plus they reported higher engagement in QI, an essential capability for learning health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health system in the U.S. and has identified the learning health system as a strategic priority. Clinicians and staff engaging in active learning through continuous quality improvement (QI) is a key pillar for learning system maturity. An interdisciplinary frontline team at a VHA medical center participated in the Learn. Engage. Act. Process. (LEAP) virtual coaching program to learn how to conduct multidisciplinary team‐based QI cycles of change. These clinicians lead and deliver the MOVE! weight management program, an evidence‐based comprehensive lifestyle intervention. The team worked to continuously improve patient weight loss by engaging in incremental learning cycles of change. The aim of this study is to tell the story of this team's learning experience and the resulting positive reinforcing loop with patient outcomes. Methods: This is a mixed methods case study description of one team that participated in the LEAP Program that provides hands‐on QI learning for frontline teams with virtual coaching and a structured curriculum. Autoethnographic qualitative descriptions of team experiences over time illustrate this team's continued engagement in learning loops. Multilevel linear modeling was used to assess patient outcomes before vs after the team's participation in LEAP. Results: The team's participation in LEAP provided a set of fundamental QI skills and established a commitment to continual learning. Incremental improvements led to significant weight loss for patients who participated in MOVE! after the team completed LEAP (mean = 9.80 pounds; SD 10.43) compared to the pre‐LEAP time period (mean = −6.83 pounds; SD 9.63). Conclusions: Despite competing priorities and time limitations, this team's experiences provide a positive vision of how team engagement in data‐driven continuous learning is feasible at the frontline and can lead to higher job satisfaction and stronger teams. These types of team activities provide much‐needed backbone to being a mature learning health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical trials are critical components of modern health care and infrastructure. Trials benefit society through scientific advancement and individual patients through trial participation. In fact, billions of dollars are spent annually in support of these benefits. Despite the massive investments, clinical trials often fail to accomplish their primary aims and trial enrollment rates remain low. Prior efforts to improve trial conduct and enrollment have had limited success, perhaps due to oversimplification of the complex, multilevel nature of trials. For these reasons, the authors propose applying implementation science to the clinical trials context. In this commentary, the authors posit clinical trials as complex, multilevel evidence-based interventions with significant societal and individual benefits yet with persistent gaps in implementation. An application of implementation science concepts to the clinical trials context as means to build common vocabulary and establish a platform for applying implementation science and practice to improve clinical trial conduct is introduced. Applying implementation science to the clinical trials context can augment improvement efforts and build capacity for better and more efficient evidence-based care for all patients and trial stakeholders throughout the clinical trials enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedding research and evaluation into organizations is one way to generate "practice‐based" evidence needed to accelerate implementation of evidence‐based innovations within learning health systems. Organizations and researchers/evaluators vary greatly in how they structure and operationalize these collaborations. One key aspect is the degree of embeddedness: from low embeddedness where researchers/evaluators are located outside organizations (eg, outside evaluation consultants) to high embeddedness where researchers/evaluators are employed by organizations and thus more deeply involved in program evolution and operations. Pros and cons related to the degree of embeddedness (low vs high) must be balanced when developing these relationships. We reflect on this process within the context of an embedded, mixed‐methods evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Diffusion of Excellence (DoE) program. Considerations that must be balanced include: (a) low vs high alignment of goals; (b) low vs high involvement in strategic planning; (c) observing what is happening vs being integrally involved with programmatic activities; (d) reporting findings at the project's end vs providing iterative findings and recommendations that contribute to program evolution; and (e) adhering to predetermined aims vs adapting aims in response to evolving partner needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Administrative data are increasingly used in research and evaluation yet lack standardized guidelines for constructing measures using these data. Body weight measures from administrative data serve critical functions of monitoring patient health, evaluating interventions, and informing research. This study aimed to describe the algorithms used by researchers to construct and use weight measures.Methods: A structured, systematic literature review of studies that constructed body weight measures from the Veterans Health Administration was conducted. Key information regarding time frames and time windows of data collection, measure calculations, data cleaning, treatment of missing and outlier weight values, and validation processes was collected.Results: We identified 39 studies out of 492 nonduplicated records for inclusion. Studies parameterized weight outcomes as change in weight from baseline to follow-up (62%), weight trajectory over time (21%), proportion of participants meeting weight threshold (46%), or multiple methods (28%). Most (90%) reported total time in follow-up and number of time points. Fewer reported time windows (54%), outlier values (51%), missing values (34%), or validation strategies (15%).Conclusions: A high variability in the operationalization of weight measures was found. Improving methods to construct clinical measures will support transparency and replicability in approaches, guide interpretation of findings, and facilitate comparisons across studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Weight loss was examined among women and men veterans in a clinical trial comparing Aspiring for Lifelong Health (ASPIRE), a "small changes" weight loss program using either mixed-sex group-visit or telephone-based coaching, to MOVE!(®) , the usual mixed-sex group-based program.Methods: Linear mixed-effects models were used to calculate adjusted percent weight change at 12 months by sex and compare outcomes across arms within sex.Results: Analyses included 72 women (ASPIRE-Phone = 26; ASPIRE-Group = 26; MOVE! = 20) and 409 men (ASPIRE-Phone = 136; ASPIRE-Group = 134; MOVE! = 139). At 12 months, women displayed significant weight loss from baseline in ASPIRE-Group (-2.6%) and MOVE! (-2.7%), but not ASPIRE-Phone (+0.2%). Between-arm differences in weight change among women were: ASPIRE-Group versus ASPIRE-Phone, -2.8% (P = 0.15); MOVE! versus ASPIRE-Phone, -2.8% (P = 0.20); and ASPIRE-Group versus MOVE!, 0.0% (P = 1.0). At 12 months, men lost significant weight from baseline across arms (ASPIRE-Phone, -1.5%; ASPIRE-Group, -2.5%; MOVE!, -1.0%). Between-arm differences in weight change among men were: ASPIRE-Group versus ASPIRE-Phone, -0.9% (P = 0.23); MOVE! versus ASPIRE-Phone, +0.5% (P = 0.76); ASPIRE-Group versus MOVE!, -1.5% (P = 0.03).Conclusions: Mixed-sex, group-based programs can result in weight loss for both women and men veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To determine whether the presence or severity of pain is predictive of suboptimal weight loss outcomes in behavioral weight management programs. Methods This is a secondary data analysis comparing weight loss among participants with overweight/obesity who participated in a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Of the 481 participants randomized, 394 (81.9%) had available pain data and were categorized by Pain Type (back pain, arthritis pain, both, or neither) and Pain Severity (no pain, moderate pain, or severe pain). Dietary and physical activity outcomes were also explored. Results High rates of moderate and severe (80.2%), and back and arthritis (72.6%), pain were observed. Linear mixed models showed significant differences in % weight loss among Pain Severity, but not Pain Type, groups. Patients with severe pain lost significantly less weight (−0.1 kg, 95% CI = −1.5, −1.2) compared to those with either moderate or no pain (−1.9 kg, 95% CI = −2.5, −1.3; −2.1 kg, 95% CI = −3.3, −1.0, respectively). Patients with arthritis pain lost a significant amount of weight despite only minor improvements in walking distance. Conclusions Pain severity, but not pain type, is predictive of suboptimal weight loss outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess for the frequency of binge eating behavior and its association with weight loss in an overweight/obese sample of veterans. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of data from the ASPIRE study, a randomized effectiveness trial of weight loss among veterans. Of the 481 enrolled veterans with overweight/obesity, binge eating frequency was obtained by survey for 392 (82%). Results The majority (77.6%) reported binge eating, and 6.1% reported high-frequency binge eating. Those reporting any binge eating lost 1.4% of body weight, decreased waist circumference by 2.0 cm, and had significantly worse outcomes than those reporting never binge eating who lost about double the weight (2.7%) and reduced waist circumference by twice as much (4.2 cm). The high-frequency binge group gained 1.4% of body weight and increased waist circumference by 0.3 cm. Conclusions High rates of binge eating were observed in an overweight/obese sample of veterans enrolled in weight loss treatment. The presence of binge eating predicted poorer weight loss outcomes. Furthermore, high-frequency binge eating was associated with weight gain. These findings have operational and policy implications for developing effective strategies to address binge eating in the context of behavioral weight loss programs for veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Research involving incapacitated persons with dementia entails complex scientific, legal, and ethical issues, making traditional surveys of layperson views on the ethics of such research challenging. We therefore assessed the impact of democratic deliberation (DD), involving balanced, detailed education and peer deliberation, on the views of those responsible for persons with dementia. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight community-recruited caregivers or primary decision-makers for persons with dementia were randomly assigned to either an all-day DD session group or a control group. Educational materials used for the DD session were vetted for balance and accuracy by an interdisciplinary advisory panel. We assessed the acceptability of family-surrogate consent for dementia research (“surrogate-based research”) from a societal policy perspective as well as from the more personal perspectives of deciding for a loved one or for oneself (surrogate and self-perspectives), assessed at baseline, immediately post-DD session, and 1 month after DD date, for four research scenarios of varying risk-benefit profiles. Results: At baseline, a majority in both the DD and control groups supported a policy of family consent for dementia research in all research scenarios. The support for a policy of family consent for surrogate-based research increased in the DD group, but not in the control group. The change in the DD group was maintained 1 month later. In the DD group, there were transient changes in attitudes from surrogate or self-perspectives. In the control group, there were no changes from baseline in attitude toward surrogate consent from any perspective. Conclusions: Intensive, balanced, and accurate education, along with peer deliberation provided by democratic deliberation, led to a sustained increase in support for a societal policy of family consent in dementia research among those responsible for dementia patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]