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Published Online: 8 May 2024

Eating Disorder Treatment Access in the United States: Perceived Inequities Among Treatment Seekers

Abstract

Objective:

Although eating disorders are associated with high rates of psychological and physical impairments and mortality, only about 20% of individuals with eating disorders receive treatment. No study has comprehensively assessed treatment access for those with these disorders in the United States. The authors examined access to eating disorder treatments and how it might vary among some populations.

Methods:

Seekers of treatment for eating disorders (N=1,995) completed an online assessment of clinical demographic and anthropometric characteristics, barriers to eating disorder treatment access, and eating disorder symptomatology. Analyses were conducted to identify treatment access barriers, compare barriers to treatment access across demographic groups, and investigate relationships between barriers to treatment access and eating disorder symptoms.

Results:

Financial barriers (e.g., lack of insurance coverage) were the most frequently reported barrier to treatment access. Participants with historically underrepresented identities and with a diagnosis of other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) reported more barriers related to financial challenges, geographic location, eating disorder identification, sociocultural factors, and treatment quality compared with those with historically represented identities (e.g., White and cisgender persons). Higher frequencies of reported barriers to treatment access were associated with more severe eating disorder symptoms and poorer illness trajectories.

Conclusions:

Financial barriers were the most significant impediment to accessing treatment among individuals seeking eating disorder treatment. Barriers to treatment access disproportionally affected underrepresented groups and those with an OSFED diagnosis.

HIGHLIGHTS

Financial barriers (e.g., lack of insurance coverage) were the most frequent treatment access barrier reported by individuals with eating disorders.
Treatment access barriers disproportionally affected underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, racial-ethnic, and sexual minority groups) and individuals with a diagnosis of other specified feeding or eating disorder.
Reports of greater barriers to treatment access were related to elevated eating disorder symptoms.
Eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses characterized by severe impairment, elevated mortality and relapse rates, and high rates of co-occurrence with other psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety, substance use, and trauma) (14). Eating disorders have a lifetime prevalence rate of 9%–13% in the U.S. population and an estimated lifetime economic and well-being cost of >$326.5 billion, making eating disorders a serious threat to public health (4, 5). Despite the high prevalence rates, substantial costs to society, and significant health problems associated with eating disorders, most individuals with these disorders (80%) never access treatment (6). Efforts to improve access to treatment for these serious illnesses are urgently needed.

Barriers to Treatment Access for Eating Disorders

Among the barriers to treatment access (BTAs) for eating disorders in the United States, treatment costs—averaging approximately $20,817 per eating disorder inpatient stay (7, 8)—represent a major hurdle to accessing treatment (9, 10). The cost of treatment may be unaffordable for most families given that the national median household income is $67,521, and even individuals with insurance coverage report difficulty accessing care (11). Other common BTAs include geographic, identification, sociocultural, and treatment quality barriers.
Geographic barriers include the inability to access care in many rural and underresourced locations; many patients in the United States must travel out of state for higher levels of care (12). Identification barriers include underdiagnosis of eating disorders because providers in nonspecialty care lack training in eating disorder assessment (13). Only for 20% of those with an eating disorder seen by outpatient providers (e.g., primary care physicians) the disorder is detected and accurately diagnosed (14). Individuals with marginalized identities are much less likely to receive an eating disorder diagnosis and subsequent treatment (9, 1521).
Sociocultural BTAs include cultural (e.g., stigma) (6, 10, 20, 22) and personal (e.g., attitudes) (6, 10) factors. Because of harmful racial-ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic biases and misperceptions regarding eating disorders, individuals from racial-ethnic minority groups, men, and those with lower income and educational attainment are less likely to receive eating disorder treatment (2326). In addition, many individuals with eating disorders do not seek treatment because they do not believe that they are “sick enough” or they hold other personal attitudes that preclude access to care (6). Finally, barriers related to treatment quality include lack of access to inclusive (e.g., gender-affirming), culturally sensitive, evidence-based, transdiagnostic, and integrative (i.e., coordinated) treatment. Each of these issues may prevent individuals from seeking and returning for eating disorder treatment.

The Present Study

To our knowledge, no comprehensive nationwide survey of BTAs among a heterogeneous sample of treatment seekers with self-reported eating disorders and both with and without lifetime access to eating disorder treatment has been conducted in the United States. The aim of this study was to examine eating disorder treatment access by comprehensively assessing BTAs, providing initial estimates of BTAs in the United States among those attempting to access treatment, comparing BTAs across different demographic characteristics, and examining the association between BTAs and eating disorder symptomatology.
We hypothesized that most participants would report multiple lifetime treatment barriers; that financial barriers would be the most frequently reported treatment barrier; that individuals with marginalized identities would report elevated BTAs; and that, across BTAs, higher frequencies of reported treatment barriers would be associated with higher levels of eating disorder symptomatology.

Methods

Participants

We recruited individuals to participate in an anonymous online survey through social media advertisements (e.g., Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and laboratory and nonprofit websites) between January 2021 and June 2022. Study advertisement materials and an unsigned consent form (i.e., preamble) at the beginning of the survey invited individuals ages ≥18 years living in the United States with a self-reported eating disorder and who had attempted to access treatment to complete the survey on behalf of themselves or a minor in their care. All study procedures were approved by the University of Louisville Institutional Review Board. The study was preregistered on Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9FN5T).

BTA Measures

To assess BTAs, three study authors (S.P.B, R.E., C.A.L.) designed a 109-item self-report instrument, informed by a comprehensive literature search and drawn from our experiences as the chief executive officer of an eating disorder nonprofit organization (R.E.), the director of an eating disorder clinic (C.A.L.), and eating disorder treatment providers (R.E., C.A.L.). The survey assessed respondents’ demographic information, clinical characteristics, treatment barriers, treatment history, and treatment experiences. We used five domains to assess BTAs: financial barriers (14 items), identification barriers (four items), treatment quality barriers (six items), sociocultural barriers (three items), and geographic barriers (two items). We analyzed barriers both at the item level and by using domain totals. (See the online supplement to this article for an explanation of how these categories map onto standard public health frameworks [27] and for a copy of the survey.)

Eating Disorder Symptoms

We assessed eating disorder symptoms and behaviors with nine items from the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, version 6 (EDE-Q) (28), which has demonstrated excellent factor validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity (29, 30). Items selected represent items from the original four EDE-Q subscales (i.e., eating concerns, shape concerns, weight concerns, and restraint) along with the four questions about the frequency of eating disorder behavior. Items were selected before publication of validated EDE-Q short forms.
For this study, we calculated an approximate EDE-Q global score by averaging responses to the following five items assessing symptoms over the past 28 days: “Have you been deliberately trying to limit the amount of food you eat to influence your shape or weight (whether or not you have succeeded)”? “Have you gone long periods of time (8 waking hours or more) without eating anything at all in order to influence your shape or weight”? “Has thinking about food, eating, or calories made it very difficult to concentrate on things you are interested in (for example, working, following a conversation, or reading)”? “Have you had a definite fear that you might gain weight”? and “Has your weight or shape influenced how you think about (judge) yourself as a person”? For descriptive purposes, we assessed behavior use in the past 28 days, including binge eating, loss-of-control eating, self-induced vomiting, and compulsive exercise. Internal consistency in this sample was good (ωt=0.86).

Data Analysis

For analyses, BTAs were conceptualized in two different ways: first, we calculated each treatment barrier (i.e., category) by adding the total number of items endorsed within each domain to yield a total score (i.e., frequency). Second, we dichotomized each treatment barrier into “not endorsed” (i.e., item total=0) and “endorsed” (i.e., item total ≥1).
We used independent-samples t tests and one-factor, between-subject analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to examine whether significant differences in overall reported barriers existed across demographic characteristics (i.e., sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, gender, education level, employment status, yearly household income, disability status, urbanicity, or primary self-reported eating disorder diagnosis).
We conducted Pearson chi-square tests to detect possible systematic differences in the likelihood to endorse individual treatment barriers on the basis of demographic characteristics. Comparisons were conducted between heterosexual and sexual minority participants and among White participants; American Indian, Native Alaska, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander participants (which we combined into one category for analyses); Asian or South Asian participants; Black/African American participants; and participants who reported multiple races. We conducted comparisons between transgender or nonbinary participants and cisgender participants and between cisgender women and cisgender men. We conducted comparisons among those with a high school education (i.e., those with some high school or a high school diploma), postsecondary education (i.e., some college, an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree), master’s degree, or doctoral degree and among those who reported that they were employed full-time, part-time, or unemployed. Finally, we conducted comparisons between those with a household income ≤$70,000 and those with a household income >$70,000. Because of the number of comparisons, we used Bonferroni corrections to adjust for potential familywise error, with alpha set at 0.05 (31).
We used independent-samples t tests to examine whether endorsement of overall and individual BTAs was associated with age at eating disorder onset, age at eating disorder diagnosis, eating disorder treatment delay, eating disorder symptoms, or body mass index (BMI). Finally, we used Pearson correlations to examine the relationship between total number of barrier items reported and eating disorder symptoms. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS, version 28 (32).

Results

Sample Selection and Characteristics

The data set contained 2,238 respondents. Of those, 243 (11%) were excluded from the analyses because they met any of the following criteria: failing traffic light validation checks (N=53; see the online supplement), submitting duplicate responses based on contact information supplied (i.e., e-mail; N=47), having an international zip code (N=35), being <18 years old (N=73), responding on behalf of someone else (N=19), or not responding to any BTA items (N=16) (see the online supplement). The final sample consisted of 1,995 participants. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants are shown in Tables 1 and 2. (See the online supplement for the results including participants who responded on behalf of someone else.)
TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics of the study participants (N=1,995)a
CharacteristicN%
Race-ethnicity
 Hispanic1266
  American Indian or Alaska Native1<1
  Asian or South Asian0
  Black or African American5<1
  Caucasian or White382
  Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander0
  Other0
  Multiracial101
  Not reported724
 Non-Hispanic1,86994
  American Indian or Alaska Native7<1
  Asian or South Asian382
  Black or African American302
  Caucasian or White1,70786
  Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3<1
  Other171
  Multiracial613
  Not reported6<1
Gender
 Cisgender man281
 Cisgender woman1,73287
 Transgender man291
 Transgender woman6<1
 Gender nonbinary1709
 Prefer not to disclose211
 Not reported9<1
Sexual orientation
 Heterosexual1,17959
 Gay or lesbian1668
 Bisexual39120
 Pansexual1196
 Asexual734
 Queer312
 Demisexual7<1
 Polysexual1<1
 Graysexual3<1
 Homoflexible1<1
 Heteroflexible1<1
 Omnisexual1<1
 Unsure/questioning5<1
 Unlabeled5<1
 Not reported121
Disability
 Yes39520
 No1,60080
Employment status
 Employed full-time91046
 Employed part-time30215
 Unemployed21211
 Student43022
 Retired161
 Other1236
 Not reported2<1
Highest level of education
 Some high school281
 Completed high school1206
 Some college43722
 Associate degree1548
 Bachelor’s degree73037
 Master’s degree45323
 Professional degree714
 Not reported2<1
Annual household income ($)
 0–10,0001668
 10,001–20,00019810
 20,001–30,0001879
 30,001–40,0001377
 40,001–50,0001558
 50,001–60,0001608
 60,001–70,0001146
 70,001–80,0001045
 80,001–90,000864
 90,001–100,000874
 100,001–150,00020510
 150,001–200,000834
 >200,0001206
 Prefer not to disclose1688
 Not reported251
Location
 Urban70435
 Suburban1,05153
 Rural22211
 Not reported181
a
The mean±SD age was 30±9 years, and mean body mass index was 25±9.
TABLE 2. Clinical characteristics of the study participants (N=1,995)
CharacteristicN%
Any self-reported eating disorder diagnosisa
 Anorexia nervosa1,11356
 Bulimia nervosa51426
 Binge eating disorder23812
 Atypical anorexia nervosa41221
 Atypical bulimia nervosa432
 Avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder1658
 Other specified feeding or eating disorder26013
 Eating disorder not otherwise specified47424
 Never received a formal eating disorder diagnosis but suspicion of having an eating disorder22911
 Never received a formal eating disorder diagnosis and no suspicion of having an eating disorderb101
Primary self-reported eating disorder diagnosis
 Anorexia nervosa59430
 Bulimia nervosa1739
 Binge eating disorder1467
 Atypical anorexia nervosa23312
 Atypical bulimia nervosa8<1
 Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder965
 Other specified feeding or eating disorder1628
 Not listed1286
 Recovered from eating disorder42521
 Not reported302
Eating disorder behavior episode frequency in previous 28 days (M±SD)
 Binge eating4±11
 Loss-of-control eating4±10
 Purging3±15
 Compensatory exercise6±9
Self-reported anxiety disorder diagnosisa
 Generalized anxiety disorder1,43672
 Social anxiety disorder42021
 Panic disorder33017
 Separation anxiety disorder523
 Agoraphobia563
 Specific phobia603
 Illness anxiety disorder221
 Obsessive-compulsive disorder55328
 PTSD85443
 Not formally diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder but frequent experience of anxiety1839
 Not formally diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder and no suspicion of having an anxiety disorder121
Self-reported mood disorder
 Major depressive disorder96548
 Bipolar I884
 Bipolar II1819
 Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)1317
 Premenstrual dysphoric disorder1116
 Cyclothymic disorder131
 Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder4<1
 No diagnosis of mood disorder but suspicion of having one432
 No diagnosis of a mood disorder and no suspicion of having one6<1
Other co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses
 Borderline personality disorder22311
 Dissociative identity disorder171
 Substance use disorder1859
 Autism spectrum disorder683
Self-reported suicide and nonsuicidal self-injury historya
 Attempted suicide65733
 Suicidal thoughts or suicidal ideation1,45673
 Nonsuicidal self-injury1,13657
Age at eating disorder onset (M±SD years)14±5
Age at eating disorder diagnosis (M±SD years)21±7
Treatment delay (M±SD years)7±7
N of treatment episodes (M±SD)5±9
Sought treatment for an eating disorder
 Yes1,79390
 No1618
 Not reported412
Received specialized treatment for an eating disorder
 Yes1,45473
 No49625
 Not reported452
Levels of care receiveda
 Inpatient64332
 Residential73937
 Partial hospital program87444
 Intensive outpatient97349
 Outpatient therapy1,56979
 Outpatient dietitian1,20761
In recovery or fully recovered from eating disorder
 Yes1,17059
 No78039
 Not reported452
Health insurance during care seeking
 Yes1,76989
 No19410
 Not reported322
Step taken to afford treatmenta
 Worked overtime or a second job41721
 Took out a second mortgage382
 Sold personal belongings26613
 Took out personal loan1518
 Stopped paying student loans25813
 Accrued credit card debt50425
 Arranged a payment plan or sliding scale rate with a provider75738
 Other57529
Negative experience with treatment due to unethical or negligent treatment
 Yes89745
 No94848
 Not reported1508
Recommended for a level of care that was inappropriate and potentially financially motivated by the person who recommended it
 Yes1628
 No1,68685
 Not reported1477
Received unhelpful or damaging comments or care from providers not offering specific care for eating disorder (e.g., primary care or other providers)
 Yes1,45173
 No45023
 Not reported945
a
Participants could have multiple diagnoses, histories, levels of care, or steps taken.
b
These participants did not suspect that they had an eating disorder at the time they took the survey but may have previously had suspicions, so they were included in the analyses.

BTA Characteristics

BTA endorsement rates and total scores are provided in Table 3. Participants endorsed a mean±SD of 3.0±1.3 barrier domains and 8.7±5.4 barrier items. Of the sample, 96% (N=1,923) endorsed at least one barrier. Financial barriers were the most frequently endorsed barrier, followed by disorder identification, sociocultural, treatment quality, and geographic barriers.
TABLE 3. Eating disorder treatment barriers reported by the study participants (N=1,995)a
BarrierN%
Lifetime financial1,61081
 Insurance does not cover the right level of care86743
 Could not figure out insurance43622
 Could not figure out how to file an appeal23312
 Appeal was denied33617
 Insurance plan limits the number of visits45923
 Recommended level of care was denied52126
 Prematurely discharged from the right level of care59830
 Could not afford out-of-pocket costs even though insurance covered the treatment61231
 Insurance coverage ended before patient or treatment team was ready55128
 Deemed not medically sick enough to receive the level of care needed58829
 Not eligible for insurance48224
 No eating disorder providers in network72636
 The best eating disorder providers did not accept any insurance78639
 Recommended for treatment that insurance did not pay for67834
Geographic78539
 No nearby eating disorder providers67334
 No treatment centers in state38519
Disorder identification1,59980
 Not diagnosed as having an eating disorder until it was much more entrenched and harder to treat1,11956
 Discouraged from seeking treatment because illness did not seem severe enough86743
 Prescribed weight loss or diet changes instead of recognition of a mental health issue62831
 Misdiagnosed as having a general medical illness instead of an eating disorder26113
Sociocultural1,45573
 Bias in the medical community against people like me54427
 Bias in the eating disorder community against people like me46523
 Weight stigma as a barrier to accessing quality eating disorder treatment1,38669
Treatment quality1,32366
 Discharged from higher level of care without step-down care63032
 When moving from one provider to another, no notes were shared and had to start from scratch59430
 Family or loved ones were available to be involved but not included in treatment1859
 Treatment received did not consider race, gender, sexuality, religion, or culture21711
 Treatment received was focused exclusively on weight and not any underlying issues66733
 Treatment received focused only on eating disorder and did not address other relevant diagnoses73637
a
Participants could endorse multiple barriers. The weight stigma question was dichotomized from a 5-point Likert scale in which any response of “slightly a barrier” to “completely a barrier” was coded as 1 and any response of “not a barrier” was coded as 0.

Associations of Disparities in BTAs With Demographic Characteristics

The mean number of BTAs reported varied by sexual orientation, gender, employment status, household income, disability status, and eating disorder diagnosis. Sexual minority participants reported significantly more BTAs than did heterosexual participants (p<0.001). Nonbinary participants reported significantly more BTAs than did cisgender women or cisgender men (p<0.05 for both). Unemployed participants reported significantly more BTAs compared with participants employed full-time (p<0.001) or part-time (p<0.05). Participants with a household income ≤$70,000 reported significantly more BTAs than did those with a household income >$70,000 (p<0.001). Participants who reported a disability reported significantly more BTAs compared with those who did not report a disability (p<0.001). Participants with anorexia nervosa reported significantly more barriers than those with binge eating disorder (BED; p<0.001), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID; p<0.05), or participants who had recovered (p<0.001). Participants with bulimia nervosa reported significantly more BTAs than those with BED (p<0.05), ARFID (p<0.05), or recovered participants (p<0.001). Participants with other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) reported significantly more BTAs than did those with BED (p<0.001), ARFID (p<0.001), or recovered participants (p<0.001). No significant differences were detected for race, ethnicity, education level, or urbanicity. (The t test and ANOVA results are shown in the online supplement.)

Additional BTA Findings

Results from the chi-square analyses of differences in BTA endorsements across demographic characteristics are shown in the online supplement. Results from the independent-samples t test analyses of BTAs, eating disorder symptoms, illness trajectory, and BMI are shown in Table 4. The total number of BTAs was positively associated with the approximated EDE-Q global score (r=0.22, p<0.001).
TABLE 4. Relationships between barriers and eating disorder symptoms, illness trajectory, and body mass index (BMI)
BarrierEndorsedNot endorsedtdfp
MSDMSD
Lifetime
 Age at eating disorder onset (years)1451551.091,948.28
 Age at eating disorder diagnosis (years)217217−0.631,687.53
 Eating disorder treatment delay (years)7767−1.181,669.24
 N of eating disorder symptoms3231−6.121,954<.001
 BMI2592590.581,423.56
Geographic
 Age at eating disorder onset (years)145145−0.381,948.71
 Age at eating disorder diagnosis (years)2172170.561,687.58
 Eating disorder treatment delay (years)67770.701,669.49
 N of eating disorder symptoms3232−5.891,954<.001
 BMI2482593.431,423<.001
Disorder identification
 Age at eating disorder onset (years)1451554.561,948<.001
 Age at eating disorder diagnosis (years)217186−7.57541.10<.001
 Eating disorder treatment delay (years)7735−11.52630.62<.001
 N of eating disorder symptoms3132−4.761,954<.001
 BMI259226−8.04668.86<.001
Sociocultural
 Age at eating disorder onset (years)1451554.421,941<.001
 Age at eating disorder diagnosis (years)217207−1.941,685.05
 Eating disorder treatment delay (years)7856−5.14931.29<.001
 N of eating disorder symptoms3221−9.611,947<.001
 BMI269227−8.34991.37<.001
Treatment quality
 Age at eating disorder onset (years)1451551.831,948.07
 Age at eating disorder diagnosis (years)2072285.06722.62<.001
 Eating disorder treatment delay (years)67893.44680.03<.001
 N of eating disorder symptoms3232−3.571,954<.001
 BMI2482591.991,423.05

Discussion

We found that individuals who sought treatment for eating disorders endorsed at least three BTA domains and that participants with marginalized identities or an OSFED diagnosis reported the greatest inequities in accessing treatment for these disorders. Financial barriers were most frequently endorsed, compared with the other BTA categories. Given the increasing prevalence of these impairing and life-threatening disorders, it is important to increase access to eating disorder treatment. These data shed light on why only 20% of individuals with eating disorders in the United States access lifesaving care and pinpoint specific inequities that need improvement to increase access to eating disorder treatments.
Participants with marginalized identities were more likely to endorse barriers related to treatment quality and sociocultural factors than those with historically represented identities. This finding is consistent with those of earlier literature (2326) highlighting that stigma and attitudes about treatment disproportionally affect individuals with marginalized identities. We also found that participants in rural areas, those who reported a household income ≤$70,000, and those with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or OSFED were more likely to report geographic barriers than those in suburban or urban areas, those with a household income >$70,000, and those with BED or who reported having recovered, respectively. Most individuals must travel out of state to receive specialty eating disorder treatment (12), consistent with the fact that those in rural areas and those reporting a household income ≤$70,000 may experience geographic barriers. In addition, participants with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or OSFED may be more likely to be referred to a higher level of care, which may require long-distance travel.
We found that participants who were more likely to report any of the BTAs reported more severe eating disorder symptoms. We also found that those who were more likely to report barriers due to disorder identification and sociocultural factors reported longer delays in treatment, lower age at eating disorder onset, higher BMI, and more eating disorder symptoms. Because stigma can affect the identification of eating disorders among those with marginalized identities (2326), these findings support the observation that individuals with these identities experience longer treatment delays and report more eating disorder symptoms. Relatedly, participants who were more likely to report BTAs related to treatment quality reported less delay in treatment and lower age at receiving a diagnosis of eating disorder. Finally, we found that those who reported higher rates of lifetime treatment barriers had elevated eating disorder symptoms.
Evidence of treatment disparities may be explained by unique and compounded structural barriers faced by individuals with marginalized identities (33). For example, individuals with a sexual minority identity might experience both identification (e.g., delay in diagnosis) and sociocultural (e.g., stigmatizing medical experiences) barriers. Moreover, our results suggest that those experiencing multiple barriers may be not only less likely to access treatment but also more likely to experience elevated eating disorder pathology, which could lead to higher chronicity and vulnerability to relapse (34, 35).
Treatment inequities among individuals with eating disorder diagnoses could be related to real or perceived differences in severity among disorders. Individuals with some eating disorders may experience specific financial and geographic barriers. Evidence suggests that those who receive an eating disorder diagnosis on the basis of being underweight are likely to be referred for intensive eating disorder treatment (36), such as, for example, individuals with anorexia nervosa, who may need to travel out of state for acute medical stabilization. In contrast, individuals with bulimia nervosa, BED, or OSFED may be admitted to outpatient care, which is more accessible. However, individuals with bulimia nervosa, BED, or OSFED may be more likely to experience sociocultural barriers because of providers’ weight bias or because of the misconception that they are not “sick enough” compared with those with anorexia nervosa (6).
Clinicians and treatment centers should continue to advocate for and negotiate with insurance companies for affordable reimbursement rates to help alleviate financial barriers. Medical and mental health providers need to be trained on detecting eating disorders and conducting evidence-based, culturally competent screenings (e.g., with the SCOFF questionnaire) (37). Such training activities could help decrease potential provider biases and increase identification of eating disorders in outpatient settings, where most individuals with eating disorders are initially seen (14). In addition, state-specific referral resources should be created and maintained so that nonspecialty providers can easily refer their patients to specialists. Establishing legislative groups, such as the Kentucky or Missouri Eating Disorder Council, could be helpful for implementation of statewide advocacy, educational materials, and resources. To help alleviate treatment quality barriers, treatment centers should expand group materials to include diverse examples and activities (e.g., manuals should be inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, religious affiliation, and diverse cultures). Efforts to reduce weight stigma in health care may help alleviate BTAs related to disorder identification, sociocultural factors, and treatment quality, especially for individuals with larger bodies. Finally, to reduce geographic barriers, treatment centers could provide financial aid to those who need to travel out of state.
Some limitations of this study should be considered. We did not use epidemiological methods, so we could not estimate prevalence rates of BTAs. Participants self-reported their eating disorder and co-occurring diagnoses, precluding generalizability to populations with clinical eating disorders because of potential errors in self-reported diagnoses. Moreover, generalizability of the current findings may be limited to individuals who seek treatment in their lifetime, including those who suspect that they have an eating disorder. Indeed, findings from a comprehensive review of the literature (10) suggest several barriers to treatment before help seeking (e.g., failure to recognize one’s eating disorder or its seriousness and lack of awareness of treatment resources) that were not captured in the present study. In addition, we approximated the EDE-Q global score with an unvalidated subset of items from the EDE-Q, selected by using clinical judgment (by R.E. and C.A.L.) at the expense of psychometric strength. Therefore, interpretation of the findings regarding the relationships between BTAs and eating disorder symptoms should be interpreted with caution. Finally, participants who provided a response on behalf of someone else were removed from the analyses because of potential sample differences. Future research should examine potential differences in barriers between individuals who self-report BTAs and those who are collateral reporters to characterize access to eating disorder treatment from the perspective of caregivers and social support networks.
The strengths of the study included a low burden on participants due to the short duration of the survey, large sample size and diversity, data integrity, and the assessment of treatment experiences alongside systemic barriers to access. The study included responses across all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this study is the most comprehensive report to date on perceived barriers to eating disorder treatment access among individuals seeking treatment in the United States. The results highlight that barriers to eating disorder treatment access are pervasive and that treatment inequities affect individuals from various treatment-seeking stages and with different demographic characteristics and self-reported diagnoses. Of note, this study included individuals who suspected that they had an eating disorder (with or without receiving a diagnosis) and reported efforts to seek care. Although lack of recognition of an eating disorder or of motivation to seek treatment often delays or precludes seeking of eating disorder treatment, it is critical to attend to barriers that arise once an individual decides to pursue treatment. Our results reflect a severe system-level failure to meet the needs of individuals who report a desire and commitment to seek help. Given evidence suggesting that historically underrepresented groups are disproportionately excluded from eating disorder treatment, public health efforts to eliminate structural barriers to eating disorder treatment should prioritize equity and inclusion. Removing structural barriers to eating disorder treatment may lead to increased treatment seeking, decreased chronicity, and, ultimately, attenuation of the personal and societal burden accrued by these disorders.

Supplementary Material

File (appi.ps.20230193.ds001.pdf)

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Pages: 944 - 952
PubMed: 38716514

History

Received: 23 April 2023
Revision received: 27 February 2024
Accepted: 4 March 2024
Published online: 8 May 2024
Published in print: October 01, 2024

Keywords

  1. Eating disorders
  2. Health care disparities
  3. Financial barriers
  4. Service delivery

Authors

Details

Taylor E. Penwell, B.A.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville (Penwell, Levinson); Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie (Bedard); Project HEAL, New York City (Eyre).
Samantha P. Bedard, M.S.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville (Penwell, Levinson); Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie (Bedard); Project HEAL, New York City (Eyre).
Rebecca Eyre, M.A.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville (Penwell, Levinson); Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie (Bedard); Project HEAL, New York City (Eyre).
Cheri A. Levinson, Ph.D. [email protected]
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville (Penwell, Levinson); Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie (Bedard); Project HEAL, New York City (Eyre).

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Levinson ([email protected]).
The findings from this study were presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New York City, November 17–20, 2022.

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

This research was funded by the National Eating Disorder Association (grant OGMB210612).

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