About the project
In this PhD project, we will explore how secondary effects of the pandemic, such as social isolation, affected girls who were diagnosed with anorexia during the pandemic. We will also explore the experiences of the treatment they received and the burden of caregiving on the parents. The data collection consists of qualitative interviews, which will be analyzed using a descriptive phenomenological psychological method.
Objectives
The project's aim is to gain new knowledge about how girls with anorexia and their parents experienced social isolation, health communication and family-based treatment during the pandemic, as well as generate new hypotheses about risk factors that may contribute to the development of anorexia.
Participants
We are recruiting girls diagnosed with anorexia aged 10 to 16 in the period March 2020 to March 2022 at Oslo University Hospital, as well as their parents. The study is exploratory, and the number of participants to be included is determined during the implementation until we have reached the point in the data collection where no new experiences are identified.
Background
Anorexia is a serious disease with serious consequences for patients and families and it is resource-intensive for the healthcare services. Family-based treatment is recommended as the first choice for children and adolescents, but it may be associated with burden of caregiving on the parents, and this burden may have been further increased during the pandemic.
