{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T22:41:10Z","timestamp":1773268870845,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773187200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Childhood obesity is a growing global public health issue, with increasing prevalence worldwide, including in China. The rise in obesity-related pediatric conditions requiring surgical intervention underscores the need to address this challenge in pediatric surgical care. However, research on this topic is limited. This study aimed to assess pediatric surgical nurses\u2019 knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and factors influencing their behavioral intentions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This is a dual-center, cross-sectional study. Nurses in direct clinical care roles at two medical institutions in China were randomly selected and completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Factors associated with their attitudes, and behavioral intentions were investigated.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 178 nurses participated in the study. Most demonstrated an acceptable level of obesity-related health knowledge and generally positive attitudes toward pediatric patients with obesity. However, gaps in professional preparedness and persistent weight bias were identified. Behavioral intentions were positively correlated with nurses\u2019 BMI (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.16,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.04) and positive attitudes (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.20,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.01), and negatively correlated with perceived weight bias (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.39,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01) and negative attitudes toward treating pediatric patients with obesity (\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.45,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01). Behavioral intentions were not correlated with obesity-related knowledge or other participant characteristics.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nurses\u2019 attitudes and personal factors, rather than knowledge alone, are more correlated with caregiving behavioral intentions toward pediatric patients with obesity. Addressing biases and enhancing professional preparedness through targeted education are crucial for improving care in pediatric surgical settings in China.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1776677","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T06:53:15Z","timestamp":1773211995000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Attitudes and behaviors of pediatric surgical nurses toward pediatric patients with obesity in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Lijun","family":"Chang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Department, Children\u2019s Hospital of Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yanhua","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University","place":["Jinan, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yakun","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Department, Children\u2019s Hospital of Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1873","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(25)01637-X","article-title":"Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2023","volume":"406","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet (London, 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