DEANNE_V1.0_29Jun2023
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Who is ANA? Deconstructing Anorexia Nervosa
IRAS ID
324668
Contact name
Kaja Widuch
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 14 days
Research summary
Despite growing evidence-based practice, Anorexia has the highest mortality rate compared to any other psychiatric disorder. An estimated 20% of the deaths are reported to be casualties by suicide. Notably, Anorexia is a female-dominated problem with an estimated 25% of the diagnoses reported among men. It is estimated only 21% of all diagnosed individuals eventually reach a full recovery.
Medical discourses for understanding Anorexia have been dominant until recently. This has led to alternative explanations being deemed by many healthcare professionals as denial, and perceived as lack of patient insight to their condition.
However, the inconsistencies between anorexia classifications across the well-established psychiatric manuals threaten the credibility of this diagnosis and such views. Arguably, each person who receives this diagnosis understands and experiences Anorexia differently and uniquely but little attention seems to have been invested in exploring alternative understandings of Anorexia in wider social contexts, including family, education, employment, and cultural or religious systems.This project, therefore, aims to a) explore how women make sense of their diagnosis of ‘Anorexia’Anorexia b) explore the role of dominant discourses and power relationships in constructing various understandings of Anorexia(s). Understanding how women construct Anorexia across their diverse social contexts will provide useful contributions toward enhancing knowledge of Anorexia and developing socially legitimized therapeutic practices pertaining to these understandings.
City, University of London is the Sponsor of the study. Study participants will be recruited from the East London Community Eating Disorders Service(CEDS) in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Eligible participants, those who self-report having received a diagnosis of Anorexia will be invited to take part in semi-structured interviews to explore how they construct their understanding of their Anorexia diagnosis. The recruitment period is planned to last between the Summer and late Autumn of 2023.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
23/WS/0115
Date of REC Opinion
23 Aug 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion