Time sensitive! Registration deadline Friday March 27th

At the end of March 2015, BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services will launch a new resource about weight bias and stigma for health professionals across BC, and we are seeking participants to support our evaluation!

What are weight bias and stigma?
Weight bias is defined as the negative weight-related attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and judgments toward individuals who are at the ends of the weight spectrum. Weight stigma is the possession of some attribute or characteristic – such as excess weight or being underweight – that is devalued in a particular social context.

What will I learn?
BalancedView is designed to enhance the awareness, knowledge and skills of health professionals in the area of weight bias and stigma, including:

• Describing some of the consequences of weight bias and stigma
• Learning about challenges experienced by people who are overweight or obese when accessing the health care system
• Exploring commonly-held beliefs about individuals who are overweight or obese and reflecting on personal attitudes about weight and shape.
• Describing strategies for implementing a health-centred approach in practice

How can I participate?
The evaluation phase will begin March 30th, 2015. The resource is expected to take 2-3 hours to complete. Participants will be asked to complete the resource by April 30th, 2015. Evaluation participants will receive up to $100 in honoraria for completion of the resource (including pre and post questionnaires), and brief follow-up questionnaires at 3 and 6 months. The total time commitment, including completion of the resource and follow-up evaluation questionnaires, is estimated to be 3-4 hours.

We are interested in getting participation from diverse health professionals including medical, mental health, allied health and public health professionals. If you are interested in being part of the evaluation of this resource, please submit your information by clicking here. The deadline for submission is Friday, March 27th, 2015.

For more information about this project, please contact Charlene King at charlene.king2@cw.bc.ca.