Web Talk: Size-Inclusive Care: Better Healthcare for All Bodies

CHP Berkshires hosts an online talk, “Size-Inclusive Care: Better Health for All Bodies,” on Thursday, Feb. 29, noon-1 p.m. Register in advance for the Zoom event HERE. 

The talk is for the public, healthcare clinicians, and others interested in learning about Size-Inclusive Care. Topics will include how weight stigma shows up in healthcare settings and impacts our health. Presenters will also discuss CHP’s initiative to improve healthcare experiences and outcomes for people who have avoided or delayed medical care due to concerns or anxiety about judgment by a healthcare provider due to body size or changes in weight. 

“Weight stigma can have detrimental effects on people’s health care experiences and can interfere with health treatment and outcomes,” said Annie Schwartz, a CHP nutritionist and director of the CHP Size-Inclusive Care initiative. “In health care, a primary focus on a patient’s weight can cause other, non-weight related issues to be overlooked, leaving patients feeling unheard and dis-empowered.” 

Schwartz added: “This topic impacts people all across the size spectrum. Anyone who has had anxiety around being weighed at the doctor’s office will benefit from this approach.”

Schwartz will host the event with Kim Loring, CHP psychiatric nurse practitioner.  The Size-Inclusive Care initiatives at CHP include clinicians in primary care, mental health, OB-GYN, and nutrition services. For more information: sizeinclusivecare@chpberkshires.org