Remote consultation with people with eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: to analyze subjective experiences related to adaptation to remote care by users with eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: a descriptive study with a qualitative approach conducted with users of an eating disorders outpatient clinic. A semi-structured remote interview was applied using the Google Meet application. The data were submitted to lexical analysis using ALCESTE software and discussed in the light of scientific evidence. Results: the remote appointment is a positive strategy but not a substitute for the face-to-face modality. The research cited financial savings, closer contact with professionals, and flexibility of service schedules as advantages. It pointed out the difficulty in clinical evaluation concerning weight, vital signs, and poor mastery of technology as limitations. Final Considerations: the study induces discussion about the systematization of remote care, which, during the COVID-19 pandemic, were responsible for providing a greater sense of support to people with eating disorders.

Short- and long-term effects of Covid-19 pandemic on health care system for individuals with eating disorders

“…To face care delivery disruption, many ED hospital services rapidly switched to remote care, in order to ensure continuing accessibility to care services. This enabled clinicians to facilitate flexible appointment scheduling, minimize time and financial burdens associated with travel, promote treatment adherence, and lower the risk of Covid-19 transmission ( 43 ). Patients undergoing remote care have achieved significant improvements in ED symptoms and mood, with the magnitude of improvement comparable to historical benchmarks at the same clinic ( 25 ).…”

“…Patients undergoing remote care have achieved significant improvements in ED symptoms and mood, with the magnitude of improvement comparable to historical benchmarks at the same clinic ( 25 ). Additionally, patients and caregivers have rated the quality of treatment and therapeutic alliance highly and quality resulted comparable to in-person care delivery in different ED groups ( 10 , 24 , 25 , 43 ). However, remote care is not without limitations inherent to technology, such as challenges in monitoring vital signs, physical examinations, and weight, which may evoke anxiety among users reliant on such follow-up measures However, these studies provided no long-term follow-up measures, making it impossible to draw conclusions on the capacity of this protocol to maintain positive effects on ED symptomatology.…”

Physician experiences with teleconsultations amidst conflict in Sudan

“…However, this current limitation may 1 day be handled by the use of emergent innovations and telemedicine peripherals which are currently only available in high-income settings, but would likely remain inaccessible in low-income settings including Sudan 31 . Additionally, clinical evaluations like weight and height measures and taking vital signs are not feasible through teleconsultation, which may be critical in some fields of medicine for diagnosis 32 . Nonverbal cues are also missed in teleconsultations, which encourage hospital-based specialists particularly to lean toward in-person consultation 30 .…”