Background:
Beat is very pleased to report a significant new investment in UK eating disorder research. A group of research funders, led by the Medical Research Council (MRC), has announced over £4m to improve eating disorder research.
This investment follows a recent All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eating Disorders inquiry, which found a ‘cycle of underfunding’ holding back UK eating disorder research and called for targeted investment to attract and retain more researchers. For more information about this report, please see HERE
As part of this funding Beat has partnered with research projects to ensure that the voice of those with lived experience is at the centre of research undertaken.
This Project:
Researchers at University College London (UCL) are investigating what are aspects of the school environment that might increase young people’s risk of developing an eating disorder. They are seeking to form a panel of young people with lived experience of any eating disorder who are attending (or who have recently attended) secondary school in the UK to help them understand what these school-level risk factors might be.
They will use this information to:
Role description:
Benefits of taking part:
Becoming an advisory board member is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of secondary schools in the UK.
By becoming a member, you will receive:
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for people with lived experience of having an eating disorder, aged 16-20 based in the U.K. Board members must be in stable recovery of their eating disorder for at least 18 months.
The recovery criteria for panel members are defined below:
We want to make sure that our advisory boards are fully representative of the diverse communities across the U.K., and so we are particularly keen to hear from people from people who identify with any of the following:
As with all our work, we are also committed to representing the full range of eating disorders, including the ‘lesser known’ ones. This includes anyone who may not have a formal diagnosis, and inclusive of both long- and short-term eating disorder experiences.
Advisory Board Meetings:
As part of the UCL advisory board you would meet with fellow board members as part of a group of 9 people. There will be two 2-hour board meetings between December 2024 and March 2025, all conducted via Zoom.
Beat Co-Production staff will facilitate meetings and there will also be dedicated staff available to provide any support needed. Beat and clinical staff will also be available for support before and after meetings.
Beat and UCL want to acknowledge the valuable expertise those with lived experience will bring to this project, so all panel members will be paid for the time they contribute. Payment for participation in sessions will be £25 per hour in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) benchmark: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/payment-guidance-for-members-of-the-public-considering-involvement-in-research/27372#citizens-advice-bureau-cab
Want to Take Part?
If you would like to become a member on the UCL advisory board, we would like to invite you to join us at an online information session.
Our information session will be a chance for you to find out more about the advisory board, what will be involved, support available, meet staff members you would be working with and ask any questions you may have!
We will be having our online information session on:
To register for an information session please complete our sign-up form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Hcc1gv5HrEWm8ekPqVuW2G_nY4V08GNIjxUrfWmc_FVUQ1FPWkFIM0pJRTZYUlNCMjFRRU9SS1M0WC4u
If you cannot attend an information session but would like to know more about the project, please contact Beat’s Co-Production team at coproduction@beateatingdisorders.org.uk.