The Second Wave of Public Policy Advocacy for Eating Disorders: Charting the Course to Maximize Population Impact

S Bryn Austin; Rebecca Hutcheson; Shalini Wickramatilake-Templeman; Katrina Velasquez

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.013

The Second Wave of Public Policy Advocacy for Eating Disorders: Charting the Course to Maximize Population Impact

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2019 Jun;42(2):319-336. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.013.

Authors

S Bryn Austin¹, Rebecca Hutcheson², Shalini Wickramatilake-Templeman³, Katrina Velasquez⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 333 Longwood Avenue, Room 634, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders: A Public Health Incubator, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: bryn.austin@childrens.harvard.edu.
² Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders: A Public Health Incubator, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Health Services, University of Washington School of Public Health, Health and Public Health Systems Research, The University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
³ Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders: A Public Health Incubator, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Center Road Solutions, LLC, Washington, DC, USA.

PMID: 31046933
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2019.01.013

Abstract

Over the past decade, a first wave of US public policy advocacy for eating disorders made substantial progress, with passage of the federal 21st Century Cures Act in 2016 as its crowning achievement. However, the US response to eating disorders continues to fall short in several ways. On the cusp of a second wave of policy advocacy, efforts must be broadened to target structural determinants of illness and inequities to maximize clinical impact and diminish suffering. Mental health clinicians, patients, and their families will be essential players in public policy advocacy efforts in this regard.

Keywords: Advocacy; Early detection; Eating disorders; Mental health; Policy; Prevention; Recovery; Treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Consumer Advocacy*
Feeding and Eating Disorders / prevention & control*
Feeding and Eating Disorders / therapy*
Health Policy
Health Priorities
Humans
Mental Health*
Public Policy*