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Drs. Hampl, Dreyer Gillette, Laroche Join NIH-funded MPI Study to Improve Weight-Related Outcomes Among Youth and Adults with Obesity

STORIES

Drs. Hampl, Dreyer Gillette, Laroche Join NIH-funded MPI Study to Improve Weight-Related Outcomes Among Youth and Adults with Obesity

Headshot of Sarah E Hampl, MD
Sarah E Hampl, MD
Director, Advocacy, Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition; Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Full Biography
Headshot of Meredith L. Dreyer Gillette, PhD
Meredith L. Dreyer Gillette, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Full Biography
Headshot of Helena Laroche, MD, FAAP, ABOM
Helena Laroche, MD, FAAP, ABOM
Scientific Medical Director, Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
Full Biography

Meredith Dreyer Gillette, PhD, Developmental and Behavioral Health, and Helena Laroche, MD, Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, are joining a multiple-principal investigator (MPI) study being led by Sarah Hampl, MD, Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition and Denise Wilfley, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine-St. Louis, along with researchers at Washington University-St. Louis and University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.  

The study, “Increasing Access to USPSTF-Recommended Obesity Care for Youth and Adults Who Are Recipients of Medicaid: Evaluation of a Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Obesity Care Training Program in FQHCs” received a $3,246,741 R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) – National Institutes of Health (NIH). Children’s Mercy-Kansas City will receive a subaward portion of the full grant amount.

The grant’s project period runs almost five years, from September 2023 until June 30, 2028. 

The team members will implement Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Obesity Care (CMOC), which leverages a timely Medicaid policy change, clinical and community linkages, and digital technology, to support the adoption of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)-recommended care through provider training that prioritizes structural and systemic contributors to health inequities to improve weight-related outcomes among youth and adults with obesity.

The study will evaluate the short- and long-term clinical and implementation outcomes of CMOC in 20 federally qualified health centers in urban and rural areas of Missouri, providing the data that are needed to support widespread implementation of this approach.

“Obesity in adults and children is associated with severe disease and poor quality of life, and disproportionately impacts rural communities and historically marginalized groups. Increased access to quality obesity treatment is an important strategy for reducing obesity-related inequities,” Dr. Hampl wrote. “Our ultimate goal is to improve health outcomes among historically marginalized groups.”

The contents are those of the investigator and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by NIH, or the U.S. Government