The urgent need for greater parent support and better health system experiences to enhance outcomes for pediatric anorexia nervosa: A Commentary on Marchetti & Sawrikar (2023)

Abstract

Marchetti and Sawrikar's (2024) systematic review of parent illness representations of their child's anorexia nervosa provides a valuable synthesis of 32 qualitative studies. The key themes that emerge paint a concerning picture of parents' perceptions of AN as: difficult to identify and understand; of chronic duration; uncontrollable; severe; and associated with serious consequences. A sense of hopelessness and low-parental self-efficacy was identified. This Commentary explores the key findings of this review in four areas: AN treatment and recovery (control/cure); emotional representations of the illness; parent understanding of the illness (coherence) and its causes; and consequences of the AN. These illness perceptions are discussed along with relevant quantitative investigations of parent experiences, with a view to suggesting how the toll on parents might be reduced and how reducing burdens on parents might also lead to improved timely treatment outcomes. It is proposed that two broad features are needed: improved help-seeking experiences in the health care system; and, more parent-focussed support.