Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

There are rising calls to address the historic (cis)gender bias in eating disorder (ED) research and care, yet little has been done to translate these ideas into practice, or to identify and address concrete disparities in eating disorder treatment for gender minoritised individuals. Diagnostic criteria and assessment tools have been developed based on experiences typical of cisgender girls and women, with no representation of other concerns related to eating disorders in other genders. Years of this systematic exclusion has essentially created a feedback loop of scientifically, clinically, and societally perpetuated stereotypes that associated ED behaviours with female gender characteristics. Accordingly, health professionals can face a substantial struggle to accurately recognise, refer, and treat disordered eating in gender minoritised individuals due to implicit and/or explicit bias. This may be further exacerbated or mediated by personal and environmental factors, including clinicians' attitudes towards or lived experience of 2SLGBT+ issues, and seniority. Additionally, evidence suggests that confidence in ED assessment is influenced by generalist vs specialist health professional status, and in many rural areas of services are provided by general Mental Health professionals, with no specialist practice available. By assessing and addressing implicit and explicit clinician bias, as well as the roles that specialist practice and geographic location might play in this bias, we are able to create new scientific knowledge and catalyze its translation into improved health services and outcomes. Specifically, this research facilitates the identification of tangible targets for equity-focused interventions, as will as improving our understanding of the actual disparities in ED care faced by gender minoritised individuals and pave the way for addressing them in clinical practice.