Bringing Voices Together: local stakeholders unite to discuss disordered eating and eating disorders

The Eating Disorder Health Integration Team (EDHIT) held a stakeholder discussion event on disordered eating and eating disorders in Bristol on 10 June.

More than 50 people attended, with diverse representation from local communities across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, as well as from further afield.

HIT Academic Director Christine Ramsey-Wade opened the discussion by inviting attendees to share their thoughts in response to the question: “What are you passionate about when it comes to eating disorder support or research?” A broad range of topics and interests emerged from the group conversations. The nine most prominent themes were then explored in greater depth.

Key themes which emerged included:

• Carer experiences
• Culturally appropriate interventions
• Early intervention and prevention
• Lived experience
• Neurodiversity
• Person-centred care
• Schools
• Social media
• Weight-inclusive approaches

The event provided a valuable opportunity for networking and building connections among individuals and local organisations. Attendees shared positive reflections:

“Brilliant for hearing different perspectives and making connections”

“Great networking opportunity”

HIT Peer Co-Director Carolyn Trippick closed the event by thanking attendees and reaffirming the importance of lived experience in shaping conversations and future work. She said:

“As someone with lived experience of an eating disorder, it was heartwarming to see so many like-minded and passionate people in the room – making connections, sharing ideas, and showing their commitment to improving the experience for those affected by eating disorders and disordered eating”

Following the positive feedback, EDHIT plans to host a follow-up event in approximately six months. The next event will retain the discussion-based format but focus more deeply on two or three key themes – such as culturally appropriate interventions – to allow for more in-depth conversations and collaborative development of creative solutions.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the follow-up event, , or you would like to attend our next event, please get in touch at [email protected].

Feedback highlights

“Thank you for creating a space for eating disorder experts to show care and share expertise.”

“It was a really inspiring event with like-minded people.”

“Lived experience was the centre of the event – BRILLIANT.”

“Brilliant to talk about these important topics with like-minded people.”

“Networking, learning, impactful, additional knowledge.”

“Widening my knowledge for the area of eating disorders.”