Predictors of treatment seeking and uptake among respondents to a widely disseminated online eating disorders screen in the United States
Open accessAbstract
Objective: To explore predictors of treatment seeking and uptake among individuals following an online eating disorders (EDs) screen in the U.S. disseminated by the National Eating Disorders Association. Method: Respondents who screened at risk or positive for a probable ED from 04/2019 to 05/2021 (N = 263,530) were eligible to complete a 2‐month follow‐up survey that assessed treatment seeking and uptake after being offered referral options following screening. Analyses were conducted using chi‐square tests or logistic regressions. Results: Sixty thousand thirty‐four respondents (22.8%) opted‐in to the follow‐up survey, of whom 2276 (3.8%) completed it. Of the final analytic sample (n = 1922), 35.7% of respondents reported seeking and 22.4% reported receiving treatment. Treatment seeking and uptake were more common among respondents who were female, White, or >24 years of age; uptake was more common among respondents who were non‐Hispanic or higher income. Elevated shape/weight concerns were significantly, albeit modestly, associated with reduced likelihood to receive treatment. Discussion: Demographic differences in treatment seeking and uptake highlight the need to optimize ED screening tools/feedback to meet the needs of underserved groups and to address stereotypes and structural barriers that may interfere. Research is also needed to identify barriers to uptake among those with elevated shape/weight concerns. Public Significance: Relatively low rates of treatment seeking and uptake were observed, particularly among underserved groups, 2 months following a widely disseminated online eating disorders screen. Optimization of online eating disorder screening tools and delivery of feedback and referral information may be needed to increase health care utilization.
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Individuals with EDs face numerous barriers to accessing ED care and early intervention, and multiple issues influence treatment dropout.
“However, individuals with EDs face numerous barriers to accessing ED care and early intervention [29–32], and multiple issues influence treatment dropout.”
From A lived experience response to the proposed diagnosis of terminal anorexia nervosa: learning from iatrogenic harm, ambivalence and enduring hope (2023) · cites this paper as [31]
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- Authors
- Grammer, A. C., Shah, J., Laboe, A. A., McGinnis, C. G., Balantekin, K. N., Graham, A. K., Smolar, L., Taylor, C. B., Wilfley, D. E., & Fitzsimmons‐Craft, E. E.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- National Eating Disorders Association (US)
- Palo Alto University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fitzsimmons‐Craft, Ellen E.
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Journal of Eating Disorders
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2022-06-20
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1252-1258
- ISSN
- 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-108X
- PMC
- PMC9444923
- OpenAlex
- W4283217054
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 4.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (F31 HL158000, T32 HL130357)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K01 DK116925, K01 DK120778)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K08 MH120341, R01 MH100455)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- eating disorders, treatment seeking, treatment uptake, online screening, demographic disparities, underserved populations, referral, health care utilization, barriers to care
- MeSH terms
- Feeding and Eating Disorders, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Referral and Consultation, United States
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