Implementing and Using the BFWHW Materials
The BFWHW Guides and companion materials will help you
address physical activity and healthy eating with female patients. They will
also help providers and patients to initiate discussions and goal setting about
these topics. By implementing the Guides, you will help your patients to live
healthier lifestyles and reduce their risks of chronic diseases, such as high
blood pressure and diabetes. The Guides and materials also benefit your
clinical setting by:
- Enhancing the well-care benefits offered.
- Improving patient-provider relationships.
Some key steps to implementing the materials are:
- Get buy-in—Introduce the BFWHW
materials to the medical director and key staff and reach a decision on
implementation. Discuss challenges, opportunities, and staff suggestions on
incorporating the materials.
- Implement according to clinical
needs—Although this section recommends ways to incorporate
materials into the clinical flow, you know what works best in your health care
setting. Adapt this set of materials to your clinical needs and/or practices.
You will need to determine whether you will use both the adult and adolescent
Guides, versus only one, and what types of health care visits will be best for
this kind of Guide. During the pilot-testing, one of the sites used the Guides
with patients who were only coming in for annual checkups or well-care
visits.
- Train staff—Train everyone who will
implement the materials to ensure that the Guides are used seamlessly in the
clinical flow.
- Determine the best place to store
materials—HRSA recommends having the front office staff hand out
the materials to the patients. Therefore, the Guides, wallet cards, and
“Reaching My Goal” Tip Sheets should be conveniently stored and
available to front office staff. Alternatively, the tip sheets could be kept in
exam rooms for providers to distribute to patients during the goal setting
activity.
- Set an official start date—This
will ensure that all staff know when to start using the materials and that all
steps are carried out according to the clinic’s protocol from the
beginning.
- Use consistently—Once you’ve
identified which materials you will use, it is very important that they be used
consistently. Make sure that all of the patients receive the Guides and that
all providers review them with their patients. These Guides are designed for
young women and adult women, regardless of weight and body size.
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