Approximately 25%-55% of young people with an eating disorder also self-harm. Currently, however, there is a lack of understanding around why a young person may develop both an eating disorder and self-harm, how these impact each other, and what a young person’s specific care and support needs are. These knowledge gaps have clear implications for treatment pathways and outcomes. To date, there are no NHS services or interventions which provide much-needed specialist support for both an eating disorder and self-harm.
In the SHINE study we are recruiting young people with a diagnosis of an eating disorder and either current or previous self-harm thoughts or behaviours, from three UK-based outpatient services: (i) Forward Thinking Birmingham, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust; (ii) Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, and (iii) Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust.
We have been working closely with the Institute for Mental Health’s Young Persons Advisory Group to design the study, explore the feasibility and acceptability of the study methods, ensure that ethical standards are met, and disseminate the findings.
This study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number NIHR201108).
The study gained ethical approval from the NHS HRA West Midlands – Black Country Research Ethics Committee (number: 296032).