Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may raise unique challenges for individuals with experience of eating disorders. Many factors have potential for detrimental impacts on psychological wellbeing and eating disorder recovery, including: Disruption to living situations, ‘social distancing’ restrictions, difficult access to healthcare, and societal changes to food behaviours and technology usage. To date, little is known on the impact of the pandemic on this population, particularly within the UK.MethodA mixed-methods online survey was developed for the purpose of this study. Data was collected from 129 individuals currently experiencing, or in recovery from, an eating disorder during the early stages of the UK pandemic lockdown. Participants were aged between 16 and 65 years, with 121 participants identifying as female, 7 male and 1 participant preferring not to disclose their gender.ResultsFindings suggest that the pandemic is having a profound, negative impact upon individuals with experience of eating disorders. Eight key themes were generated: Disruption to living situation, increased social isolation and reduced access to usual support networks, changes to physical activity rates, reduced access to healthcare services, disruption to routine and perceived control, changes to relationship with food, increased exposure to triggering messages, and positive outcomes. The results suggest detrimental impacts on psychological wellbeing including decreased feelings of control, increased feelings of social isolation, increased rumination about disordered eating, and low feelings of social support.ConclusionsIndividuals with eating disorders are at significant risk of negative impacts of the pandemic. There is a vital need for interventions to support this population. Inequalities in healthcare provision were identified, emphasising a need for a more cohesive approach to remote treatment across UK healthcare services. Positive aspects of technology use were identified but the results suggest a need to address and/or limit the potential for negative impacts of public messages around food and exercise behaviours, and to co-design technologies with end-users to facilitate effective treatment.
Highlights
Individuals with, or in recovery from, eating disorders (EDs) are likely to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
The results suggest that disruptions to daily life as a result of lockdown and ‘social distancing’ may have a negative impact on individuals’ wellbeing
Quantitative measures Mean scores for the five scales are provided for participants categorised into two groups: those currently experiencing an ED, and those who report being in recovery (Table 1)
Summary
Individuals with, or in recovery from, eating disorders (EDs) are likely to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. ED symptoms may be exacerbated by media exposure, disruption to daily activities, social isolation, modified physical activity and sleep, and negative affect and fear of contagion [1]. Research is already underway to identify how therapy for EDs can be translated to online delivery [8, 9] Despite these efforts, healthcare organisations - and those receiving treatment – may face significant challenges with the move to remote healthcare [4]. Many factors have potential for detrimental impacts on psychological wellbeing and eating disorder recovery, including: Disruption to living situations, ‘social distancing’ restrictions, difficult access to healthcare, and societal changes to food behaviours and technology usage. Little is known on the impact of the pandemic on this population, within the UK
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