Oral Presentation ESA-SRB-ANZOS 2025 in conjunction with ENSA

Progressing cross-sector collaboration for people with eating disorders and higher weight: Priority actions from an expert roundtable (128132)

Hiba Jebeile 1 , Angelique F Ralph 2 , Eve T House 1 , Gemma Sharp 3 , Tracy Burrows 4 , Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia 5 , Supreet Saluja 1 , Leah Brennan 6 7 , Sarah K Trobe 8 , . on behalf of participants of the expert roundtable 1
  1. Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. School of Translational Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  4. College Health Medicine and Wellbeing, Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
  5. Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  6. School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University , Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  7. Centre for Eating, Weight and Body Image, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  8. National Eating Disorder Collaboration, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

We aimed to establish collaborations and relationships across the fields of obesity and eating disorders and develop shared understandings, goals and priority actions. Multidisciplinary researchers and clinicians working in the fields of obesity, eating disorders or both, and people with lived experience of higher weight and eating disorders (n=28) held a round table in November 2024. The National Eating Disorder Collaboration Stepped System of Care Framework guided identification of key challenges for people experiencing eating disorders with higher weight. For each challenge, participants identified existing initiatives (services, programs, resources, research) and opportunities for the future. Participants then identified five priority areas of action arising from the roundtable. Cross-cutting themes across the System of Care included creating a professionally safe environment for this work to occur, addressing weight stigma, cultural safety and intersectionality. The five priority areas are: Health Campaigns (building awareness of the occurrence of binge-type and restrictive eating disorders in people with high weight, use of appropriate language, health literacy);  Screening and Assessment (developing standardised eating disorder assessment protocols embedded across healthcare settings); Primary Healthcare (supporting the use of MBS items for extended eating disorder consults and access to allied health services); Tailored Treatment Pathways (growing the evidence base for eating disorder treatment programs and models of care and identification of eating disorder treatment pathways for people with higher weight); and Workforce Capacity (upskilling of broad workforces to prevent, identify, respond and treat people with eating disorders and higher weight). To drive progress in the five priority areas and cross-cutting themes, working groups have been established. These groups will champion key initiatives, share information, and promote Australian efforts aimed at enhancing prevention and care for individuals experiencing eating disorders and higher weight.