Heruc Gabriella, Hurst Kim, Trobe Sarah, Shelton Beth, Spiel Emma, McLean Siân A
Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, Sydney, Australia.
Eating Disorders and Nutrition Research Group, Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
J Eat Disord. 2025 Jul 17;13(Suppl 1):144. doi: 10.1186/s40337-025-01310-1.
With eating disorder prevalence increasing in Australia and around the world, it is critical that clinicians are trained in eating disorder treatment and that people with eating disorders, their families and supports can identify suitably trained clinicians. With funding from the Australian Government, the Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) and National Eating Disorders Collaboration partnered to develop and implement a novel credentialing system to recognise dietitians and mental health professionals with a minimum level of knowledge, experience, and training in eating disorder care. This paper aims to describe the development and implementation of this credentialing system, exploring its initial uptake by clinicians. In developing the Credential, initial scoping work included extensive consultation with clinicians, peak professional bodies, and those with lived experience of an eating disorder and their families. Once the criteria for the ANZAED Eating Disorder Credential were established and a custom website built, the Credential opened for applications from clinicians on 24 November 2021. To engage with clinicians, incentive schemes were used, including a limited evidence sunset period encouraging the existing workforce to apply, and professional development programs targeting the upskilling of clinicians new to eating disorder treatment. In the first 19 months of the Credential, 1410 clinicians (including 511 dietitians and 899 mental health professionals) were awarded the Credential. Although there was a small amount of anticipated attrition during the first renewal period, 1275 clinicians remained currently credentialed at 30 June 2023. Overall, most credentialed clinicians were private practitioners, likely motivated by the need for professional recognition. To support program improvements and long-term sustainability, future research will explore the benefits, impacts, and challenges of the credentialing system as perceived by clinicians and people with an eating disorder and their families.
随着饮食失调在澳大利亚乃至全球的患病率不断上升，临床医生接受饮食失调治疗方面的培训以及饮食失调患者及其家人和支持者能够识别经过适当培训的临床医生至关重要。在澳大利亚政府的资助下，澳大利亚和新西兰饮食失调学会（ANZAED）与国家饮食失调协作组织合作，开发并实施了一种新颖的认证系统，以认可在饮食失调护理方面具备最低知识、经验和培训水平的营养师和心理健康专业人员。本文旨在描述该认证系统的开发与实施过程，并探讨临床医生对其的初步接受情况。在制定该认证时，初步的范围界定工作包括与临床医生、专业高峰团体以及有饮食失调生活经历的人及其家人进行广泛协商。一旦确定了ANZAED饮食失调认证的标准并建立了定制网站，该认证于2021年11月24日向临床医生开放申请。为了吸引临床医生，采用了激励计划，包括设定有限的证据有效期以鼓励现有从业人员申请，以及针对刚接触饮食失调治疗的临床医生进行技能提升的专业发展项目。在认证的前19个月，有1410名临床医生（包括511名营养师和899名心理健康专业人员）获得了该认证。尽管在首次续证期间预计会有少量人员流失，但截至2023年6月30日，仍有1275名临床医生保持有效认证。总体而言，大多数获得认证的临床医生是私人执业者，可能是出于对专业认可的需求。为了支持项目改进和长期可持续性，未来的研究将探讨临床医生、饮食失调患者及其家人所认为的认证系统的益处、影响和挑战。
