Educational and support intervention to help families assist in the recovery of relatives with eating disorders

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop and test an educational and support nursing intervention in Iceland to help families assist with the recovery of relatives with eating disorders. Studies indicate that if families receive adequate help in the recovery process of a relative with an eating disorder, the prognosis is better. The study is a pre-post design. The intervention was based on the Calgary Family Intervention Model. An educational and support intervention, which lasted for 3 weeks, was provided for 21 family members of individuals with eating disorders. The patients had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or an eating disorder not otherwise specified. Participants were divided into three groups. The main findings revealed a significant improvement according to the scales used for measuring understanding in the level of expressed emotion questionnaire and for measuring eating behaviour, concern with weight and food, and denial of the problem in the anorectic behaviour observation scale. The participants' responses to the research questions about their satisfaction with the educational and support intervention were positive. The study indicates that an educational and support intervention can prove beneficial for families and patients with eating disorders.