Introduction

Jesse, Creedy and Anderson’s review on “Effectiveness of psychological interventions for women with type 2 diabetes who are overweight or obese: a systematic review protocol” aims at establishing the psychological interventions’ effectiveness in the management of weight among women having type 2 diabetes (women who are obese or overweight). Also, the article seeks to examine psychological interventions’ effectiveness on emotional well-being such as quality of life, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. With the World Health Organization’s prediction that by 2030 obesity or overweight will be the seventh leading cause of death, there is the need for such a review, and thus the article is timely and relevant. The review is in line with the three World Health Organization’s target which includes the following. First, the organization seeks to halt the ever-rising incidences of obesity and diabetes. Secondly, it targets to reduce the world cases of premature mortality from diabetes by 25%. Moreover, the World Health Organization aims to reduce the prevalence of insufficient physical activity by 10%. In this regard, this review will shed more light in obesity or overweight-related issues thus supporting the World Health Organization’s primary targets.

Summary

As highlighted in the article, while the World Health Organization’s definition of the term overweight is having “a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 25,” being obese regards having a BMI greater than 30. In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the rates of obesity/overweight cases in the world. However, women suffer more as their inactivity rates as compared to their male counterparts is relatively higher; 34% as compared to the male’s 28%. Women’s high risks of becoming overweight/obese have thus necessitated this study/review. In examining the above-identified review objectives, the authors have grouped the psychological interventions into various therapies with the first one being Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). CBT refers to a “spectrum of psychological methods such as mindfulness, metacognition, acceptance, and commitment treatment.” The second intervention group used include meditation therapy, hypnotherapy, and relaxation therapy.  The author also recognizes the fact that since the past weight loss and management have considerably failed to curb the ever-rising rates of obesity/overweight, there is the need for the use of psychological interventions which will primarily focus on behavior change, depression, and anxiety, emotional well-being, self-efficacy and self-esteem.

The review seeks to use the following inclusion criteria. The participants will be women aged 18 years and above. They will have to have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Also, those to be considered for the study must have a BMI of 26 or higher (classified as overweight or obese). Psychological interventions including behavioral psychotherapies, medication and hypnotherapy, relaxation therapy, coaching, motivational counseling, psycho-education, lifestyle counseling, mindfulness, and CBT will be considered for the review. Health professionals would administer interventions or treatments. The study will seek to establish three primary outcomes including indicators of weight management, physical changes, and measures of well-being, depression anxiety, and self-efficacy/self-esteem. Notably, the primary study type will be Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs); however, in its absence, quasi-experimental design, and pretest-posttest studies would be considered.

The review will use a three-step search strategy in finding both unpublished and published research studies to be analyzed. The chosen research articles will also have to have been published between the year 2000 and present. The researchers will utilize the following databases for searching for the articles; “Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL Plus and MEDLINE.” Two reviewers will assess the selected research articles. More importantly, data from the selected articles will be extracted by the reviewers who will use the JBI extraction tool. All the retrieved results will be subjected to double data entry. Lastly, JBI SUMARI will be used in pooling in quantitative data.

Critique

It is remarkable how the authors have a clear presentation of their topic and the paper’s purpose. The paper’s objectives are highlighted at the beginning of the article. As the paper evidence, the authors’ primary goals are to “Identify the effectiveness of psychological interventions on weight management in women with type 2 diabetes, who are overweight or obese” and “determine the effectiveness of psychological interventions on emotional wellbeing such as self-esteem, depression, anxiety and quality of life.”

The information that the review presents conforms with the knowledge idea that nursing plays a significant role in ensuring the health of the individuals is a society. As the review highlights, health professional assists in offering various psychological intervention with the aim of dealing with overweight or obese. In this regard, the paper confirms the ideas regarding nursing; in particular, the role the profession plays in ensuring a healthy society. More importantly, the reading is consistent with what the book presents. Both sources present that obesity’s harmful effects are diverse and include decreased quality of life and increased risk of premature death. Moreover, the book highlights obesity or overweight among the significant causes of death in the world.

It is undebatable that the article will be useful in future nursing practice. Notably, the article seeks to shed light into obesity/overweight management and psychological interventions’ effectiveness on emotional well-being such as quality of life, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. In this regard, the information may be useful in coming up with effective strategies and means of dealing with the ever-increasing rate of obesity, especially among women. Reading the article, it makes individuals rethink on how they can perform specific nursing skill set. In particular, it addresses the fact that other past interventions have failed at dealing with the issue at hand. So, it makes one think of an alternative, psychological interventions.

The most important information learned from the article is the fact that obesity is associated with various psychological factors such as depression and hence the need for psychological interventions. The article adds to the existing literature on dealing with overweight or obesity especially among the women. In doing so, the review has made a clear presentation of relevant information thus raising concern for further investigation regarding how efficiently and effectively can psychological interventions be used in curbing obesity. Moreover, the review is educative especially for the nurses, and anyone would subscribe to the journal and also recommend it others since it is not educative but also an informative resource.