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. 2022 Mar 4;10(1):31.
doi: 10.1186/s40337-022-00556-3.

Informing the development of Australia's National Eating Disorders Research and Translation Strategy: a rapid review methodology

Phillip Aouad  1   2 , Emma Bryant  3 , Danielle Maloney  3   4 , Peta Marks  3 , Anvi Le  5 , Haley Russell  3 ; National Eating Disorder Research Consortium; Phillipa Hay  6 , Jane Miskovic-Wheatley  3 , Stephen Touyz  3 , Sarah Maguire  3   7
Collaborators, Affiliations

Informing the development of Australia's National Eating Disorders Research and Translation Strategy: a rapid review methodology

Phillip Aouad et al. J Eat Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are highly complex mental illnesses associated with significant medical complications. There are currently knowledge gaps in research relating to the epidemiology, aetiology, treatment, burden, and outcomes of eating disorders. To clearly identify and begin addressing the major deficits in the scientific, medical, and clinical understanding of these mental illnesses, the Australian Government Department of Health in 2019 funded the InsideOut Institute (IOI) to develop the Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Strategy, the primary aim of which was to identify priorities and targets for building research capacity and outputs. A series of rapid reviews (RR) were conducted to map the current state of knowledge, identify evidence gaps, and inform development of the national research strategy. Published peer-reviewed literature on DSM-5 listed EDs, across eight knowledge domains was reviewed: (1) population, prevalence, disease burden, Quality of Life in Western developed countries; (2) risk factors; (3) co-occurring conditions and medical complications; (4) screening and diagnosis; (5) prevention and early intervention; (6) psychotherapies and relapse prevention; (7) models of care; (8) pharmacotherapies, alternative and adjunctive therapies; and (9) outcomes (including mortality). While RRs are systematic in nature, they are distinct from systematic reviews in their aim to gather evidence in a timely manner to support decision-making on urgent or high-priority health concerns at the national level.

Results: Three medical science databases were searched as the primary source of literature for the RRs: Science Direct, PubMed and OVID (Medline). The search was completed on 31st May 2021 (spanning January 2009-May 2021). At writing, a total of 1,320 articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the final review.

Conclusions: For each RR, the evidence has been organised to review the knowledge area and identify gaps for further research and investment. The series of RRs (published separately within the current series) are designed to support the development of research and translation practice in the field of EDs. They highlight areas for investment and investigation, and provide researchers, service planners and providers, and research funders rapid access to quality current evidence, which has been synthesised and organised to assist decision-making.

Keywords: Australia; Eating disorders; Mental health; Policy; Rapid review; Research; Research translation.

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Conflict of interest statement

PH receives royalties from Hogrefe, and Huber and McGraw-Hill publishers for contributions on eating disorders. PH receives royalties from Oxford University Press and sessional fees and lecture fees from the Australian Medical Council, Therapeutic Guidelines publication, and New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry. PH is an author on a paper cited in this Editorial. PH is a member of the World Health Organization Working Group on Feeding and Eating Disorders for the Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioral Disorders and this paper represents personal views of the author. PH has received an honorarium from Shire Pharmaceuticals for a commissioned report and education of Psychiatrists. ST receives royalties from Hogrefe and Huber, McGraw Hill and Taylor and Francis for published books/book chapters. He has received honoraria from the Takeda Group of Companies for consultative work, public speaking engagements and commissioned reports. He has chaired their Clinical Advisory Committee for Binge Eating Disorder. He is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Eating Disorders. ST is a committee member of the National Eating Disorders Collaboration as well as the Technical Advisory Group for Eating Disorders. AL undertook work on this RR while employed by HMA.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Organisational involvement flow-chart
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Research questions answered by the rapid review
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Exclusion criteria
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Keyword search terms. Note: Where applicable all search terms utilised wildcard (*) and combination searches (database permitting) to ensure all variations of a term were captured. Terms in either the ‘disorders’ column or ‘topic specifier’ column were separated with the ‘OR’ Boolean operator
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
PRISMA flow-chart of search results
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Broad categorisation of evidence base identified
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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