There is a need to integrate patient-reported outcome measurements into the treatment of eating disorders (EDs). Patients with EDs typically have a different opinion of their needs from that of the health professionals. This can compromise adherence with treatment.
In this cross-sectional study, data assessed by the clinician are compared with patient-reported measures. A positive association was found between the body mass index (BMI) and PROM scores for anorexia nervosa, as reflected in the measure of subjective perception of symptom severity.
The PROM scores for anorexia nervosa and other unspecified eating disorders, indicate that patient-reported assessments are more indicative of patients’ eating disorder symptoms than clinician evaluations.
From the report:
“A clinician is trained to perform a task, but the patient might still be contemplating or preparing themselves to receive treatment. This leads to a mismatch between the two and can ultimately lead to “treatment resistance”. Aligning expectations would strengthen the alliance between the clinician and patient, and thus increase the chance of treatment success.
PRO measures are increasingly applied in clinical practice, as PRO data can be used to assess symptom severity, function and treatment efficiency”.
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