Brazilian psychiatrists’ knowledge of and perceived confidence in eating disorder diagnosis and treatment recommendations

Abstract

Objective: To investigate Brazilian psychiatrists’ knowledge of and perceived confidence in diagnosis and evidence-based treatment recommendations for eating disorders. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 259 psychiatrists filled out an online form including sociodemographic data and questions about the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders based on standard guidelines. The sample’s knowledge level and perceived confidence regarding eating disorders were characterized using descriptive statistics. Results: The sample, which was predominantly women (65.64%), had a mean age of 42.86 years, was from southeastern Brazil (56.37%), worked predominantly in private practice (59.85%), and had less than 10 years of experience in psychiatry (51.74%). We found that 33.21% of the participants correctly identified the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, 29.73% for bulimia nervosa, and 38.22% for binge eating disorders. Correct answers for therapeutic options were similar for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (20.8%) but were considerably lower for anorexia nervosa (2.7%). The participants’ training about eating disorders occurred during medical school (15.1%), medical residency/graduate study (59.8%), or as continuing education (58.7%). Only 8.89% felt satisfied with their training about eating disorders, 50.97% felt confident diagnosing eating disorders, and 37.07% felt confident about treating patients with eating disorders. Conclusion: These results show an important knowledge gap about eating disorders among Brazilian psychiatrists, which affects their confidence and competence in treating patients with eating disorders.

Keywords

• Eating disorder
• training
• psychiatry