Project 466880

Though eating disorders (EDs) possess the greatest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, Canada has yet to implement a national standard for treatment. EDs are severe psychological illnesses that result in disturbed eating behaviours, affecting nearly one million Canadians at any given time. It has been well established that ED treatment lacks a patient-oriented perspective that is informed by the lived experiences of those who have received ED treatment. The result is that ED treatments have high drop-out rates, are inconsistent across clinical programs and have low overall participation. Several reports and strategies have urged researchers to explore lived experience through qualitative data collection in order to facilitate the improvement of these issues. In accordance with these recommendations, this study will work with Nova Scotians who have participated in clinical eating disorder (ED) treatment to understand their experience. Furthermore, this study will seek to understand the perspectives and beliefs that those with lived experience have towards the improvement of Canadian clinical ED treatment. Data collection will take the form of one-on-one interviews which will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The researcher will then analyze the resulting transcripts to identify common themes among the participants experiences. The resulting themes will produce novel contributions to existing data, informing improvements to Canadian clinical ED treatment from people with lived experience. Ultimately, the study will act as a guide for clinicians and policymakers as they work towards improving clinical ED treatment for Canadians.