Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

College of Nursing

First Advisor

Gayenell S. Magwood

Second Advisor

Carolyn H. Jenkins

Third Advisor

Lynne S. Nemeth

Fourth Advisor

Martina Mueller

Fifth Advisor

Kathleen Fitzsimmons

Abstract

Overweight and obesity disproportionately effect the health and well-being of African American women in the United States. Existing vulnerabilities and health disparities compound risks associated with overweight and obesity, leading to increased incidence of disability, morbidity and early mortality. Further, current weight management interventions (WMIs) do not address the needs of overweight and obese (OWO) African American females (AAF), with limited research focusing on the biopsychosocial variables that influence weight-related behaviors in this population. This dissertation describes the development and pretesting of a theoretically-based questionnaire that may be used to assess the biopsychosocial needs of OWO AAF and guide development of (WMIs). The first manuscript of this dissertation compendium describes a conceptual model of weight management in OWO AAF developed through the process of dimensional analysis as described by Schatzman. A scoping review of behavioral WMIs for OWO AAF follows the first manuscript, describing the current literature and identifying gaps in the research. Finally, the third manuscript describes the development and pretesting of a weight management behaviors questionnaire that may be used to assess the needs of OWO AAF and guide the development and evaluation of weight management interventions.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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