To what Extent do the Public Need Educating about Eating Disorders?

Abstract

Background: Previous studies highlight poor education around eating disorders (EDs) amongst the public, alongside negative attitudes towards those affected by EDs, which may reduce opportunities for help-seeking. Little is known about whether improved education regarding EDs gained through experience might impact negative attitudes and to attract government funding for public education campaigns, greater knowledge around levels of education is required. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate ED education in 10 adult women with experience of an ED attained through a close loved one's illness and 10 women without experience. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Four themes endorsed by both groups emerged from the data: 1) general education (of individuals, society, health professionals); 2) education regarding the specific nature of the illness (role of food, addiction, severity, impact); 3) knowledge regarding aetiology (biological and social factors, self-esteem and the media); 4) hope and the future (sympathy, empathy and positive outcomes). Experienced participants reported higher education than inexperienced participants although knowledge gaps were observed across all participants and while strong negative views were not expressed, the experienced group offered greater empathy. Conclusion: The general public are relatively poorly educated about EDs and public education programmes are warranted, targeting the above themes, which appeared to be salient to lay individuals.

University students’ understanding and opinions of eating disorders: a qualitative study

“…An interview guide (online supplemental file 1) of open-ended questions informed by the relevant literature34 41 42 was used to explore key areas of MHL,43 including knowledge of ED symptoms, causes, characteristics, treatments and recovery, and personal help-seeking behaviours (see online supplemental file 1 for specific questions relating to these areas). These topics were chosen to reflect a broad overview of ED-MHL, to ensure participants were able to share their full knowledge and perceptions they have of EDs, ensuring the research question was answered.…”

“…Therefore, there is a need for extensive qualitative research to be carried out in this area. Yet, the existing UK qualitative literature into ED-MHL is lacking, only seeking responses from females,34 meaning difference in responses between males and females cannot be inferred. Some qualitative literature exists from other countries, but this literature is also incomplete, focussing only on ED causes,21 or solely on AN 35.…”