Faculty Advisor(s)
Karen Weis and Jennifer Rugletic Washko
Abstract
The doctoral capstone project titled Breaking Barriers in Bariatric Care was established to promote equitable care and increase the quality of healthcare services provided to bariatric patients. Breaking Barriers in Bariatric Care was implemented to address the areas of education, research, and advocacy. With the focus being on these areas, the student worked to promote levels of accessibility and inclusivity within the healthcare system. The capstone project included an asynchronous virtual educational program for healthcare students at Misericordia University to enhance knowledge in the areas of bias reduction, safe handling, and providing appropriate care to bariatric patients. The student conducted a mixed-methods study to understand bariatric individuals' experience with provider interactions, access to healthcare-based environments, and the quality of care received. Lastly, the project consisted of an advocacy piece, focusing on the development and implementation of an environmental assessment tool. The assessment tool was utilized to identify the supports and barriers in environmental spaces that impact bariatric individuals' ability to safely and equitably access different healthcare spaces. The bariatric population faces a multitude of barriers when attempting to explore their environment and receive quality care within healthcare systems due to the lack of accessibility, inclusivity, and equity. The project promoted stronger levels of knowledge and competence in the bariatric population while simultaneously promoting advocacy efforts to enhance the accessibility of healthcare spaces and quality of care being received.
Publication Date
2026
Document Type
Poster
Department
Occupational Therapy
Keywords
doctoral capstone, bariatric, advocacy, accessibility, research, healthcare, bias reduction, safe handling
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Occupational Therapy | Rehabilitation and Therapy
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lapshanski, Morgan, "Breaking Barriers in Bariatric Care" (2026). Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2026. 11.
https://digitalcommons.misericordia.edu/otd_capstone2026/11