Practical guide created to tackle the effects of the pandemic on patients with eating disorders
International experts including the involvement of the UAB have published a practical guide with recommendations and strategies for patients with eating disorders, their families and therapists, applied to the context of the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
02/06/2020
COVID-19 has created a global pandemic which has devastated the lives of many and contains many unknowns about the strategies to be used to soften the direct and indirect effects of the virus. The identification of the main form of transmission of the virus, through droplets expelled by those infected with the virus, alongside the registry of desolating morbidity and mortality rates, has generated healthcare emergencies which fought to control the outbreak from spreading any more. At the same time, several research groups were making great efforts to find vaccines and treatments which could cure patients.
The situations produced by the COVID-19 outbreak can be a source of stress for many people. Social distancing, concern about how to prevent getting infected, fear of visiting healthcare centres, and even frustration and feelings of guilt for not being able to help minimise the effects of the virus, can be overwhelming and bring about different states of anxiety. The situation worsens in people with already existing mental health issues. A preliminary study conducted at the Bellvitge University Hospital confirms the deterioration of the health of people with eating disorders during the COVID-19 confinement period.
A group of international experts under the guidance of Dr Fernández-Aranda from the Bellvitge University Hospital, and with the involvement of Dr Roser Granero Pérez from the UAB Department of Psychobiology and Methodology, has published a practical guide with recommendations and indications for patients with eating disorders, their families and therapists.
The study, published in European Eating Disorders Review, includes recommendations and action strategies in 21 languages to help tackle eating disorders appearing during the COVID-19 outbreak. Different coping strategies are offered to deal with situations specifically related to eating disorders (concern about gaining weight, eating too much, lack of exercise or physical activity, lack of professional control, etc.), as well as dealing with situations not directly related to eating, such as how to face the possible effects of the outbreak, the possibility of becoming infected and emotions caused by social distancing.
Link to the guide:
STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS DURING COVID-19
Original article:
Fernandez-Aranda F, Casas M, Claes L, Clark Bryan D, Favaro A, Granero R, Gudiol C, Jiménez-Murcia S, Karwautz A, Le Grange D, Menchón JM, Tchanturia K, Treasure J. (2020). COVID-19 and implications for eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 28 (3), 239-245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2738.