Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37296440›Full record

ArticleJournal of eating disorders2023

A systematic review of people's lived experiences of inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa: living in a "bubble".

Rebekah Rankin, Janet Conti, Lucie Ramjan, Phillipa Hay

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed
9.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  6. Anorexia nervosa: 150 years of critical theory.Journal of eating disorders · 2026
    Review
  7. Article
  8. When Is the Right Time to End Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (FT-AN)?: A Qualitative Study of Young People's Experiences.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rebekah RankinTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia. r.rankin3@westernsydney.edu.au.
Janet ContiTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Lucie RamjanTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Phillipa HayTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Western Sydney University · AUTranslational Research Institute · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTreatment for anorexia nervosa (AN) is typically delivered on a continuum of care, starting with outpatient treatment, and moving onto intensive outpatient, day or residential treatment and/or inpatient hospitalisation. However, minimal attention has been afforded to the lived experiences of persons undergoing inpatient treatment for AN. In particular, qualitative literature pertaining to the lived experiences of specialist inpatient or residential treatment of AN remains fragmented and incomplete. The aim of this review was to synthesise current literature exploring patients' lived experiences of residential and inpatient treatment for AN within eating disorder-specific treatment services.

methodsFive databases were searched and a qualitative thematic systematic review and meta-synthesis of 11 studies were conducted.

resultsEleven studies of 159 participants were included. Four meta-themes were constructed from the data: (1) a medical discourse-"I don't think it's individualised here"; (2) restrictive practice-living in a "bubble"; (3) myself, others and "a similar demon"; and (4) I am "not just another anorexic". The data also revealed two cross-cutting themes: (1) more than a single experience; and (2) meaning making and identity.

conclusionsThese findings highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of the inpatient treatment experience as well as the inherent conflicts in balancing the necessity of medical and psychological intervention with person-centred treatment approaches in the treatment of AN.

Indexed as

Anorexia nervosaEating disorderInpatient treatmentInterventionLived experienceMeta-synthesisQualitativeRefeedingSystematic reviewTherapy

Identifiers

PMID37296440
PMCPMC10257311
OpenAlexW4380088184

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.