Queensland Health

STEPPED Care Pathway – Codesign and Development of a Support for Malnutrition Pathway following a Paediatric Eating Disorder Admission – a Scoping Study

This project aims to co-design and develop a new post-hospital support service for children and their carers following an admission for an eating disorder. After leaving hospital, young people with eating disorders often face a high risk of relapse and readmission and often have lengthy wait times for specialist outpatient mental health services. Families and carers are critical to supporting recovery at home but often feel under-prepared and unsupported during this transition. We want to work together with carers and health professionals to design a service that makes this time easier, safer, and more supportive.

- Carers - carers of children under 16 years (at time of admission) who have had an acute admission for eating disorder management. - Health professionals who work with children under 16 years admitted for eating disorder management, in either inpatient or outpatient settings, across all clinical and allied health disciplines.

- Carers can complete a 10-minute anonymous survey online, and/or attend a 30-minute interview (in person or online via Teams), to share their experiences, challenges, and ideas for what would help most. - Health professionals can complete a short survey to share their perspectives on current post discharge care and service needs.