ArticleJournal of eating disorders2021
What was the impact of a global pandemic (COVID-19) lockdown period on experiences within an eating disorder service? A service evaluation of the views of patients, parents/carers and staff.
Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Access and use of general and mental health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health services: A systematic review.Journal of psychiatric research · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Eating Disorders: What Can We Learn About Psychopathology and Treatment? A Systematic Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2021Pooled it
- Stepping into day treatment approach versus inpatient treatment for adults with anorexia nervosa: the DAISIES RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Trial
- Bringing treatment home for adolescents with eating disorders.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- A Scoping Review of Eating Disorder Clinicians' Experiences, Needs, Views and Wellbeing.Journal of clinical psychology · 2025Article
- Parents' experiences of caring for a child with an eating disorder: the impact of financial challenges.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- The hybrid space in eating disorder treatment: towards a personalized approach to integrating telehealth and in-person care.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Shortening duration of untreated illness in young people with first episode eating disorders: protocol of a randomised controlled feasibility trial of a smartphone friendly multi-modal decision-making tool (FREED-M) to improve help-seeking.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Snakes and Ladders: The experience of being referred to and seen by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.SSM. Mental health · 2024Article
- Staying isolated indoors means that nobody sees me": ontological (in)security and living with significant appearance concerns before, during, and 'since' COVID-19.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2024Article
- The financial and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with eating disorders, their families, clinicians and the mental health system: a mixed methods cost analysis.Journal of eating disorders · 2024Article
- Feasibility, Perceived Impact, and Acceptability of a Socially Assistive Robot to Support Emotion Regulation With Highly Anxious University Students: Mixed Methods Open Trial.JMIR mental health · 2023Article
- Co-producing principles to guide health research: an illustrative case study from an eating disorder research clinic.Research involvement and engagement · 2023Article
- Article
- Examining the experiences of pediatric mental health care providers during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- Canadian pediatric eating disorder programs and virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods approach to understanding clinicians' perspectives.Annals of general psychiatry · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment for mental health needs: a perspective on service use patterns and expenditures from commercial medical claims data.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral numbers, diagnostic mix, and symptom severity in Eating Disorder Early Intervention Services in England.The International journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- The use of technology in the treatment of youth with eating disorders: A scoping review.Journal of eating disorders · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global pandemic on the 11th March 2020. As a result, the UK Government imposed severe restrictions on working and social contact as part of "lockdown." Whilst the full extent of the pandemic's impact on eating disorder patients is unknown, the literature suggests that patients with pre-existing mental illness may be more vulnerable to the mental health impacts. In addition, the restrictions greatly reduced the access to mental health services and presented new challenges to service delivery. A service evaluation was carried out to explore how the COVID-19 global pandemic changed service provision in a young person's eating disorder service and how this affected patient, family and staff experiences.
methodsAn audit was carried out to explore how the lockdown period had impacted referrals and service delivery. Quantitative data was collected in an online survey and qualitative data was collected in two formats: open ended answers as part of the online survey and open-ended focus groups, structured using narrative enquiry. The 43 participants consisted of 12 patients, 19 parents/carers, and 12 staff members. Patients were under the age of 18 and had a diagnosis of an eating disorder.
resultsCOVID-19 and lockdown increased the pressure on the service and changed service provision significantly. This has impacted the relational experiences for patients and their carers and staff have been faced with new challenges. Patients, parents/carers and staff all preferred face-to-face appointments over virtual options. There was no difference in service satisfaction before and during COVID-19.
conclusionsIt is possible to provide an eating disorder service in lockdown restrictions that patients and parents report high satisfaction with. Providing face-to-face appointments at the beginning of treatment and including families in the planning should be prioritised. Staff support is crucial to be able to continue delivering high quality services. The key themes are identified, and clinical recommendations are made to guide service delivery.
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