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ViewAttendees 2

Symposia

Eating Disorders

Advocating for Comprehensive and Innovative Solutions Toward Equitable Eating Disorder Treatment

1 - (SYM 18) Community-engaged Development of Single-session Interventions to Address Unmet Eating Disorder Treatment Need

Friday, November 15, 2024
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom E, Level 5, Downtown Marriott
Abstract Body
Unmet treatment need for eating disorders (EDs) is reaching crisis levels. Most experiencing EDs will receive no treatment and a small minority will receive empirically-supported treatments. Myriad barriers to care exist, including stigma, provider bias, lack of specialist providers, inadequate healthcare access, high treatment costs, and considerable time demands. Single-session interventions (SSIs) represent a potential solution to overcoming treatment barriers for EDs. SSIs are structured programs designed to yield meaningful change in an outcome of interest through a single encounter, and can be delivered as a standalone or adjunctive intervention. Notably, SSIs bypass numerous barriers and structural limitations to evidence-based care, as they are accessible, affordable, and scalable. Despite being brief and low-intensity, SSIs have demonstrated numerous benefits for other mental health concerns, including sustained improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms, with comparable effect sizes to more intensive and costly interventions. Preliminary data suggest SSIs can also reduce body dissatisfaction and restrictive eating. Nevertheless, the potential of SSIs to address the considerable public health burden of unmet ED treatment need is virtually untapped. We will describe our community-based participatory project aimed at developing and implementing three SSIs that target key transdiagnostic mechanisms contributing to ED symptoms (self-compassion, body neutrality, intuitive eating). A community advisory board of lived experience experts will collaborate on the content and design of the SSIs and provide guidance on recruitment for the pilot trial. The pilot trial will target adults waiting for or unable to access ED treatment, and will evaluate the SSI’s feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in an open trial. Developing SSIs in collaboration with the community that are culturally responsive, relevant, and inclusive are crucial for reducing ED treatment disparities. Moreover, if SSIs ultimately reduce ED symptoms and improve quality-of-life, there is hope we may begin to reduce the public health burden of unmet ED treatment need.