This paper describes an independent online consulting service for persons affected with eating disorders and their relatives (http:// www.ab-server.de) which was developed by physicians and psychologists in Germany. This study aims to understand the individual use of the online consulting by affected persons and their relatives. In order to do this, two online questionnaires were developed: one for affected persons and one for their relatives. These questionnaires were sent digitally to those people who had posted an e-mail to the online consulting service between 1/1999 and 11/2003 (n ¼ 2760). Finally, 240 data sets of affected persons and 85 of relatives were included in the analysis. Respondents said that the online consulting had had important effects on their lives: (a) 22.5% of affected persons and 49.4% of relatives stated that the answers provided by the online consultants led to a better understanding of the disease; (b) 32.1% of affected persons and 52.9% of relatives experienced that they had been talking more about the disease since they had contacted the online consulting service; (c) 20% of affected persons went to see a therapist as a consequence of the online consultation. 55.4% of affected persons and 81.2% of relatives had not turned to professional help before they contacted the online service. The results of the evaluation sugest that people seeking help are made sensitive to their existing problem and that they have been encouraged by the online consultation to seek further professional help.

Topics relating to active management of the disorder receive great attention in prorecovery forums.

In the treatment of chronic diseases, programs that use the internet as a medium are becoming more and more important as a complement to classical intervention techniques. Since 1998, a non-profit information and online consulting service for patients with eating disorders and their friends and relatives (www.ab-server.de) has existed. This was established by members of the Deutsche Forschungsinitiative Essstörungen e.V. (DFE) [German Research Initiative for Eating Disorders] and members of the Clinic of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany. For the present study, 2,176 e-mail requests from users of the online consultation service were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to better understand the differences between different types and groups of users. The analysis was related to the social field of the person requesting the consultation, the type of disorder reported, and the content of the e-mail request. Three main user groups could be identified: people who described themselves as having an eating disorder (57.2%), people who were related socially to the affected person (32.4%), and interested persons (9.8%). The consulting service was predominantly used by persons suffering from bulimia nervosa or their families and friends (63.1%). One third (33.3%) of the posted e-mails were related to behavioral patterns in dealing with the illness and the affected person. They were followed by inquiries for information about the disease (18.7%) and by those seeking help in finding specialized clinics/therapists and places in therapies. The increasing use of the online consulting service indicates that there is a substantial need for information and help in persons with eating disorders and in their relatives, who are able to easily contact professionals using this online service. Online consulting has a high potential for complementary care of affected people.

No abstract

The low threshold and professional online consulting service is highly accepted by the target group.