Eating disorders

It is understood that when mental health and paediatric teams work together collaboratively, it can lead to better health outcomes for children and young people with ARFID.

Previous research carried out by Prof Dasha Nicholls and her team at Imperial College London found that ARFID patients receive different levels of care depending on their referral pathway, and that paediatric and psychiatric care is not well integrated. Patients were also found to have varying profiles; those in paediatric services were younger, more often male, had more chronic symptoms, and were more likely to have sensory food avoidance and autism than those in mental health services. On the other hand, psychiatrists saw more patients with fear-driven food avoidance, and with weight loss and anxiety.

Despite receiving different types of intervention, most patients' nutritional outcomes improved. However, those seeing mental health teams saw more improvements in their eating behaviours.

To share these findings with wider audiences, Prof Nicholls plans to host four regional events over 12 months, inviting child and adolescent psychiatrists, paediatricians, young people with lived experience and their families, researchers, and commissioners/managers. Her plan is to support the development of clinical pathways for ARFID. The workshops will include education and round-table discussions of the challenges faced by patients. The team will then publish a public-facing report to share learning from pathway development and case studies, and host a final online webinar to promote the outcomes and evaluation of these activities.