Implementing Virtual Parent Support Groups for Eating Disorders Across Canada

Understanding and Mitigating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children, Youth, and Families Living With an Eating Disorder: A National Implementation Study of a Virtual Parent-Led Peer Support Intervention

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has experienced a surge in new pediatric eating disorder cases and hospitalizations and long treatment waitlists, with parents experiencing anxiety due to a lack of support. As it has not been rigorously studied, there is an urgent need to understand and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, youth, and families living with eating disorders across Canada. The investigator's proposed research has two goals. First, the investigators plan to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic faced by this population throughout the country, as well as describe stakeholder views on virtual parent-led peer support groups. Given the increased burden faced by parents of children with eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the second goal is to study whether the national implementation of virtual parent-led peer support groups helps to mitigate the impact of the pandemic among affected parents. The investigators will use qualitative semi-structured interviews to gather an understanding of the impact of the pandemic on relevant stakeholders across the country. At the same time, the investigators will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the implementation of virtual parent-led peer support groups in several regions of Canada by examining parent and parent peer support provider experiences.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Have the capacity to write, speak and understand English
• Have access to a computer and internet
• Among parents enrolled in the virtual parent-led peer support groups, they must have a child or adolescent (<18 years of age) diagnosed with an eating disorder
• Among youth and parents of youth with an eating disorder in the qualitative interviews component of the study, they/their child must either be on a waiting list for eating disorder treatment, actively in treatment, or post-treatment; the youth must be <18 years of age and the parent must have a child <18 years of age
• Among clinician/administrators in the qualitative interviews component of the study, they must work within pediatric eating disorder programs or lifespan eating disorder programs.

Exclusion Criteria:

• No lived or professional experience in the field of eating disorders
• Don't have the capacity to write, speak and understand English
• Don't have access to the internet/computer