Email UpdatesEating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder, are serious conditions that impede quality of life and affect physical and psychosocial functioning. Project ROADMAP (Research Optimization for Addressing Eating Disorders Management in Adolescent Primary Care) convened a recent conference to bring together leaders from around the globe to share information and map out research priorities for the coming decades.
The conference* themes included identifying optimal screening methods; optimizing engagement in primary care teams; developing training curricula; and recognizing and managing eating disorders in diverse populations. Presenters were from both within and outside the eating disorders field. The aim was to map out the work going forward to inform guidance for primary care providers wishing to adopt evidence-based practices with eating disorder patients. Attendees contributed to breakout sessions in which they could identify unanswered questions, generate research hypotheses to start to address some of these gaps, and start to develop meaningful and productive interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle challenging problems related to eating disorders in primary care. The following were among the tools and resources featured.
- Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a comprehensive approach to detect and intervene early in a disorder in adults. It is commonly used for people at risk of developing a mental health and/or substance use disorder, but has recently been adapted for adults with eating disorders. See below for a variety of tools and resources dedicated to care for eating disorders.
- The National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (NCEED) offers a Free Screening Tool for Eating Disorders This SBIRT eating disorder tool provides real-time results to providers. It includes discussion topics to guide patient conversations, pre-written notes that can be easily transferred to electronic health records, and a step-by-step referral guide to facilitate the specialty care search.
- The National Eating Disorders Association’s (NEDA) offers an Eating Disorders Screening Tool. It is based on the Stanford Washington University ED screener tool and developed for college age women. This online screening tool was developed for and with contributions from primary care providers. It allows practitioners to receive a patient assessment based on de-identified patient feedback. Practitioners also receive scripts to guide patient discussions. Specialty services for referrals can be identified via varying search parameters, including geography and insurance type.
- The New York State Psychiatric Institute’s (NYSPI) preparED is an educational program for clinicians that is meant to address provider training or knowledge gaps in eating disorder treatment best practices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutrition webpage and NEDA’s statistics and research webpage provide further information on eating disorders. To better understand how to accurately speak about eating disorders, see the National Institute of Mental Health’s brochure, Let’s Talk About Eating Disorders. For more information about SBIRT, the AHRQ Academy’s website has many resources to educate and train providers in SBIRT generally or to facilitate SBIRT implementation. If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, NEDA has resources to help.
* "Funding for this conference was made possible [in part] by grant R13 HS 29603-01 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government."