Obesity bias in diagnostic radiography students: A survey of attitudes, perceptions and technical confidence

Introduction: Obesity bias exists in healthcare professionals and students from numerous disciplines and negatively impacts the quality of care, outcomes, engagement, and satisfaction of their patients. With obesity rates continuing to rise in the United Kingdom (UK), more patients will be affected than ever, and it is becoming an increasingly important issue to tackle. This study aims to assess the attitudes to obesity of student diagnostic radiographers and determine if obesity bias exists in this population.

Method: Student radiographers (n=140) at a single university in the UK were invited to complete an online survey comprising measures designed to assess levels of bias and attitudes towards obesity, including the Attitude Towards Obese Persons (ATOP) scale. Likert-type scales were used to collect quantitative data, and data analysis included descriptive statistics, frequencies, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Results: Responses were received from n=38 students. The mean ATOP score for participants was 70.37 (SD=19.26). With 26% (n=10) scoring below 60, demonstrating strong negative attitudes towards obese individuals. Additionally, students (76.3%; n=29) indicated that they observed high levels of obesity bias whilst on clinical placement. There was a statistically significant correlation between levels of weight bias and students’ confidence in working with obese patients (r(36)=0.4, p 0.01). Students who are less confident working with obese patients had higher levels of obesity bias.

Conclusions: Obesity bias exists in radiography students at levels comparable to those that have been found previously in other healthcare professionals and students. Furthermore, radiography students lacked confidence in their technical ability to work with obese patients and lower confidence levels were associated with higher levels of obesity bias.

Implications for Practice: The findings of this study provide preliminary knowledge upon which future research can be built.