Predictors of Attitudes Towards Treatments for Bulimia Nervosa

Hepworth, Natasha S.; Paxton, Susan J.; Williams, Benedict

doi:10.1080/00048670601172731

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…Receiving treatment for weight-loss or another mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety, is much more common than receiving appropriate formal care for an eating pathology [10-13]. Those with eating disorders are also more likely to engage help-seeking from informal sources, such as their social network, or to use self-help strategies, such as increasing intake of vitamins and minerals or searching for information on the internet, than they are to obtain formal treatment [12,14-16]. While there are self-help strategies known to be useful in reducing some eating disorder symptoms, these are rarely utilised [9,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health first aid for eating disorders: pilot evaluation of a training program for the public

2012

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BackgroundEating disorders cause significant burden that may be reduced by early and appropriate help-seeking. However, despite the availability of effective treatments, very few individuals with eating disorders seek treatment. Training in mental health first aid is known to be effective in increasing mental health literacy and supportive behaviours, in the social networks of individuals with mental health problems. Increases in these domains are thought to improve the likelihood that effective help is sought. However, the efficacy of mental health first aid for eating disorders has not been evaluated. The aim of this research was to examine whether specific training in mental health first aid for eating disorders was effective in changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards people with eating disorders.MethodsA repeated measures, uncontrolled trial was conducted to establish proof of concept and provide guidance on the future design of a randomised controlled trial. Self-report questionnaires, administered at baseline, post-training and 6-month follow-up, assessed the effectiveness of the 4-hour, single session, mental health first aid training.Results73 participants completed the training and all questionnaires. The training intervention was associated with statistically significant increases in problem recognition and knowledge of appropriate mental health first aid strategies, which were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Sustained significant changes in attitudes and behaviours were less clear. 20 participants reported providing assistance to someone with a suspected eating disorder, seven of whom sought professional help as a result of the first aid interaction. Results provided no evidence of a negative impact on participants or the individuals they provided assistance to.ConclusionsThis research provides preliminary evidence for the use of training in mental health first aid as a suitable intervention for increasing community knowledge of and support for people with eating disorders to seek appropriate help.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611001181998

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental health first aid for eating disorders: pilot evaluation of a training program for the public

2012

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“…Second, individuals with EDs are often unable to identify whether their behavior is “serious” enough to warrant professional treatment. This distorted perception of need represents a significant barrier to treatment seeking [ 48 ]. To reduce this barrier, the term coach was used throughout the BEST-U app to refer to the clinician because coach had a more benign connotation than therapist and empowered the student as the one in charge of their progress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students Mobile App to Treat Eating Disorders: User-Centered Research Design and Feasibility Study

Forbush,

Christensen Pacella,

Thomeczek

et al. 2023

JMIR Form Res

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Background University students are an at-risk group for the development of eating disorders (EDs); however, many college campuses lack sufficient resources to provide ED specialty care. Students report unique reasons for not seeking ED treatment, including the desire to solve the problem on their own (eg, seeking help from friends, self-medicating, or waiting to see if their problems improve), inability to afford treatment, lack of time to participate in the treatment, fear of seeing their primary care physician, and lack of recognition of their issues as an ED. Mobile health (mHealth) apps may be a cost-effective, helpful adjunctive tool to overcome personal and systemic barriers and encourage help seeking. Objective This paper describes the development, usability, and acceptability of the Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U) mHealth smartphone app, which is designed to fill critical gaps in access to ED treatment on college campuses. Methods We undertook a 4-phase iterative development process that focused on user-centered design. The 4 phases included needs assessment based on literature reviews, prototype development and initial evaluation in a pilot trial, redesign, and further pilot-testing to assess the usability and acceptability of the final version of the mHealth app. Acceptability and user satisfaction were assessed using an ad hoc survey that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Results Our needs assessment identified a lack of accessible and affordable treatments for university students. To help meet this need, the BEST-U prototype was designed as an 11-week program that provided interactive, weekly modules that focused on second- and third-wave cognitive behavioral skills. The modules focused on topics such as psychoeducation, reducing thought distortions and body checking, improving body image, interpersonal effectiveness, and behavior chain analysis. The content included interactive quizzes, short answer questions, daily and weekly logs, and surveys completed in the app. BEST-U was paired with brief 25-30 minutes of weekly telehealth coaching sessions provided by a licensed provider or supervised trainee. Pilot-testing revealed minor issues with one module of the app content, which some participants viewed as having low relevance to their experience and therapist concerns about the organization of the app content. These issues were addressed through the removal, addition, and reorganization of BEST-U modules, with the help of therapists-in-training across 2 workshops. The revised version of the BEST-U app had a grand mean acceptability rating of 5.73 out of 7. The participants completed 90.1% (694/770) of the BEST-U modules, indicating high compliance. Conclusions BEST-U is a new, acceptable, and user-friendly mHealth app to help therapists deliver brief, evidence-based cognitive behavioral interventions. Owing to its acceptability and user-friendly nature, BEST-U has high user compliance and holds promise for future implementation and dissemination in university mental health settings.

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“…Adherence to treatment also could have a major impact on the achievement of abstinence, as do dropout rates. To some extent this may represent problems among participants in understanding the mechanisms of action and reasons for certain treatment recommendations, which speaks to the need for a more complete discussion of such issues in the clinical setting 6 . In contrast, the affective disorder literature supports pursuing a goal of remission of all symptoms of depression.…”

Section: Pharmacotherapy Of Bulimia Nervosamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common causes related to leaving the study included illness relapse (fluoxetine 29%, placebo 29%) and patient decision (fluoxetine 27% placebo 32%). As mentioned earlier, to some extent this may reflect individual patient’s lack of understanding concerning the reasons for the clinician to recommend pharmacotherapy 6 . A more detailed evaluation of the reasons for leaving studies would be helpful to understand the dropout rates and the compliance issues in clinical practice.…”

Section: Pharmacotherapy Of Bulimia Nervosamentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological therapies for eating disorders

Mitchell

Roerig

Steffen

2013

Intl J Eating Disorders

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Objective To provide a comprehensive review of pharmacotherapy and other biological treatments for eating disorders. Method Literature on this topic was systematically reviewed. Results The bulimia nervosa literature underscores the utility of antidepressants, particularly SSRIs, in improving the symptoms of the disorder. The literature on binge eating disorder supports efficacy on reduction in binge eating frequency for a variety of compounds. However, such compounds have only modest effects on weight. Certain antiepileptic agents such as topiramate, if tolerated, are probably more useful in terms of weight loss. The number of controlled trials in patients with anorexia nervosa in particular has been quite small, and recent meta-analyses show disappointing results using atypical antipsychotics in anorexia nervosa. Discussion The pharmacological treatment of eating disorders remains an underdeveloped field although drug therapy clearly plays a role in the treatment of those with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Other biological therapies have not been adequately studied.

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Predictors of Attitudes Towards Treatments for Bulimia Nervosa

Cited by 8 publications

References 30 publications

Mental health first aid for eating disorders: pilot evaluation of a training program for the public

Mental health first aid for eating disorders: pilot evaluation of a training program for the public

The Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students Mobile App to Treat Eating Disorders: User-Centered Research Design and Feasibility Study

Biological therapies for eating disorders

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