Supporting Students with Eating Disorders
"Supporting Students with Eating Disorders" investigates the challenges facing students with eating disorders at university. This report explores findings of an audit into eating disorders support for students alongside testimony from our panel of expert advisers and previous research.
Key themes we explore in the report include:
The report explores recommendations in three key areas:
We hope this report will serve as a springboard for student mental health advocates, support staff and researchers to better understand the experiences of students with eating disorders and put measures in place to support them at every stage of the recovery process. We can do better together.
Key themes we explore in the report include:
- The student mental health landscape and existing support for people and students with eating disorders.
- Help-seeking, initial contacts, and referral processes.
- Transitions and continuity of care.
- Health inequalities and the experience of marginalised and underrepresented students.
- The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students with eating disorders.
The report explores recommendations in three key areas:
- Addressing health inequalities and the diversity of experiences: preventing the harmful impact of stereotypes on different student groups, practical steps to ensure support provision is relevant to students from all backgrounds, and identifying key gaps in the existing evidence base pertaining to students from marginalised groups.
- Help-seeking and barriers to access: better information-sharing within and between institutions and support providers, student choice of treatment options, privacy in accessing support, and ceasing the use of body mass index (BMI) in referral processes.
- Referrals, pathways and continuity of care: effective multi-agency working, clear communication and expectation management, proactive planning for transitions, and effective training and support for non-clinical staff.
We hope this report will serve as a springboard for student mental health advocates, support staff and researchers to better understand the experiences of students with eating disorders and put measures in place to support them at every stage of the recovery process. We can do better together.