Health Equalities Group (HEG), in partnership with the Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) Cancer Academy, has launched a new open-access e-learning programme designed to help healthcare practitioners recognise, understand and reduce weight stigma in healthcare settings.
Reducing Weight Stigma in Healthcare Practice: Person-Centred Approaches is a free online course that takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and is available to all healthcare staff via the CMCA’s Online Learning Academy.
Weight stigma can have a significant impact on patient experiences, healthcare engagement and health outcomes. Research shows that people living with overweight or obesity may experience judgement, stereotyping and discrimination within healthcare environments, which can lead to delayed care, reduced trust in services and poorer overall health outcomes. The new programme aims to increase awareness of these issues and support practitioners to adopt more inclusive, compassionate and person-centred approaches.
The course has been co-developed by HEG and Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance Cancer Academy as part of the five-year ‘Strategic Obesity project’ funded by CMCA.
Drawing on research evidence, lived experience insights and local learning from across Cheshire and Merseyside, the e-learning is structured around three modules that will help learners to understand the following key themes:
- What weight stigma is and how it is experienced in everyday interactions
- The physical and psychological effects of weight stigma
- How weight stigma can affect clinical decision-making, diagnosis, patient trust, and health outcomes
- How weight stigma can affect people’s engagement and uptake of healthcare service
- How to use person-first, non-stigmatising language.
Participants will gain practical knowledge and tools to help challenge bias, improve communication and support better patient experiences across healthcare services, whilst the e-learning has been mapped to the ACCEND Capabilities in Practice framework to meet the highest standards of practice.
Speaking about the e-learning module, Jon Hayes, CMCA Managing Director, said:
“We are excited about the Cancer Academy launching a new e-learning module on weight stigma awareness, something that will be beneficial for all healthcare staff across the system, not only frontline staff. We know that experience of weight stigma in healthcare settings can have long lasting, negative consequences for patients, including delayed future uptake of healthcare services such as cancer screening. This e-learning will help healthcare staff take a person-centred, empathetic approach when discussing weight as part of overall health and wellbeing.”
The programme is now available to access free of charge through the Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance’s Online Learning Academy. Visit the course at: