Eating Disorder Safe Principals (ED Safe)

Organisation / Service

NEDC


Go to Eating Disorder Safe Principals (ED Safe) (nedc.com) Contact Eating Disorder Safe Principals (ED Safe)

The Eating Disorder Safe principles are a group of 19 interrelated vision statements to create environments where people’s experiences of health, food, mind and body are safe and supported. These principles aim to minimize the risk and harm associated with eating disorders.  

The principles are grouped into five broad categories: Health, Food, Mind, Body and Harm Minimisation. 

The Eating Disorder Safe principles are broad in nature. This is so that they can be applied across a wide range of settings. This approach intends that, over time, people and communities receive consistent and safe messages from healthcare, education, workplaces, media, social media and more.

To support wide uptake of the Eating Disorder Safe principles, NEDC has produced six How-To Guides, which set out suggested actions to put each principle into practice, as well as ‘quick wins’, reflection activities, a self-check tool and an action planning template. How-To Guides are available for:

  • Individuals and families
  • Frontline workers (all disciplines)
  • Service managers and planners
  • Researchers and policymakers
  • Media and communication professionals and related platforms
  • Workplaces.

National Strategy Standards and Actions

Prevention

Prevention 1.1 Eating disorder sector to establish eating disorder-safe principles for relevant public policy, drawing on lived experience, clinical and research expertise, and expert input from the wider public health and public policy sectors.  

Prevention 1.2 All levels of government to ensure that public policy and initiatives related to education, health promotion, food and nutrition, physical activity, weight management, advertising and media do not contribute to eating disorder risk, drawing on eating disorder-safe principles and expert input.  

Prevention 2.1 Eating disorder sector to establish eating disorder-safe principles for research, drawing on lived experience, clinical and research expertise.   

Prevention 2.2 Research stakeholders to ensure that research activities do not contribute to eating disorder risk, drawing on eating disorder-safe principles and expert input.  

Prevention 3.1 Eating disorder service development and lived experience organisations to partner with other sectors, industries, professional bodies and consumer groups to develop and disseminate training and supporting resources in eating disorder-safe principles for community, health and education professionals working with a diverse range of people and communities, and support their implementation.  

Prevention 4.5 Eating disorder organisations to partner with industry bodies to develop and roll-out workplace initiatives for eating disorder prevention, such as through eating disorder-safe guidelines for workplaces, employee wellbeing programs and staff health/activity challenges.    

Identification

Identification 2.4 Tertiary and vocational health/mental health education providers to ensure that curricula routinely include information about eating disorder-safe principles of care and competencies  for identification and referral.  

Treatment

Treatment 9.4 Eating disorder service development and lived experience organisations to develop accessible online training in eating disorder-safe principles for all staff involved in the treatment of people experiencing eating disorders and their families/supports, and work with service leaders to disseminate this training. 

Treatment - Hospital and Residential 4.1 Hospital and residential services to ensure that training on eating disorder-safe principles and meal support is made available to all staff involved with eating disorder admissions.  

Treatment – Hospital and Residential 4.2 Eating disorder service development organisations and training providers to develop and disseminate training in eating disorder-safe principles, identification, initial response and referral for hospital consultation/liaison psychiatry staff.  

Psychosocial and Recovery Support

Psychosocial and Recovery Support 2.1 Eating disorder service development organisations and lived experience organisations to collaborate with psychosocial and recovery support services to develop accessible online training in eating disorder-safe principles and practice, and eating disorders information and skills tailored for psychosocial and recovery support service settings.   

Psychosocial and Recovery Support 2.2 Eating disorder service development organisations and training providers to collaborate with psychosocial and recovery support services to promote and disseminate online training in eating-disorder safe principles and practice via tertiary and vocational education settings  and psychosocial and recovery support service settings. 

Workforce

Workforce 1.6 Eating disorder service development and lived experience organisations to promote eating disorder sector engagement with broader mental health sector training and professional development opportunities (including trauma-informed care, culturally safe practice, transdiagnostic approaches, co-occurring conditions). 

Workforce 4.1Eating disorder service development and lived experience organisations to partner with the education, social and community services sector to develop and disseminate training and supporting resources in eating disorder-safe principles, and support their implementation.


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