Research call for Queensland eating disorder caregivers – how the extended family can help

Research call for Queensland eating disorder caregivers – how the extended family can help

Caring for someone with chronic Anorexia Nervosa is very challenging. Now, an Australian study is looking at how the extended family members can provide much needed support. Often, extended family members want to help, but don’t know how.

A team of researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Queensland Health are together looking into how the extended family can best support  the primary caregivers of individuals with chronic Anorexia Nervosa.

If you would like to help in this study, the researchers are looking for parents and carers of individuals with chronic Anorexia Nervosa to participate in a 60 minute focus group to be held at QUT, Kelvin Grove.

During the focus groups, the research team will explore the family’s needs in relation to supporting their child/young person. The researchers are particularly interested in focusing on what parents believe the members of their extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles) may need to know or skills that they might need to learn in order to provide help with support and respite.

Views are invited from families of both adult and older adolescent sufferers, and from families who have had family based treatment (Maudsley Model) as well as those who have had other treatments.

To find out more, and to participate, contact Coral Smith via email address below.

Coral will send a study information flyer, participant information sheet and consent form that includes further details on the study. Coral is a Senior Research Officer, in the School of Psychology & Counselling (Faculty of Health). QUT, Australia.

Email: coral.smith@qut.edu.au

* This study has been approved by the QUT Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number 1400000283).