The imperative of collaboration: Lived experience perspectives on team approaches in outpatient eating disorder treatment

Abstract

BackgroundAcross healthcare broadly, team treatment approaches range from siloed multidisciplinary treatment to synergistic Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP), with IPCP increasingly favored. In eating disorders, clinical practice guidelines endorse team outpatient treatment, and these approaches are widely used in clinical practice. However, there is limited evidence to describe attitudes toward and experiences of team approaches, including IPCP, among individuals with a lived experience.MethodTwenty‐seven participants (aged 20–51 years) with a formal eating disorder diagnosis were recruited. Each had received outpatient eating disorder treatment from a team or teams comprising a mental health professional, dietitian, and general practitioner (GP) in the past 2 years. Qualitative data were collected via semi‐structured interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsFour themes were derived from the qualitative analysis. Themes included: (1) working together is better; (2) the linchpin of teamwork is communication; (3) teams should foster autonomy with limit‐setting; and (4) systemic failures negatively affect team treatment. Participants favored highly collaborative treatment from a team including a mental health professional, dietitian, and GP at a minimum, where the team engaged in high‐quality communication and fostered autonomy with limit‐setting. Systemic failures negatively affecting team treatment were reported across the care continuum.DiscussionFindings endorse the application of IPCP to outpatient eating disorder treatment as a strategy to improve treatment satisfaction, engagement, and outcomes. Given the paucity of evidence exploring IPCP in this field, however, the development and evaluation of interprofessional education and treatment models is a foundational necessity.Public SignificanceTeam eating disorder treatment is widely used in clinical practice, although there is limited evidence to guide interventions. This study explores attitudes toward and experiences of team outpatient eating disorder treatment among individuals with a lived experience. Understanding preferred team treatment characteristics delivers important information to improve treatment satisfaction, engagement, and outcomes for individuals receiving outpatient eating disorder treatment.