| dc.description.abstract | As many as 30 million people in the United States have struggled with an eating disorder (National Eating Disorder Association [NEDA], n.d.). Anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED) are the most common types of eating disorders. Approximately 20% of college students report that they have had disordered eating at some point in their lives (Tillman, Arbaugh, & Balaban, 2012). Prevalence of eating disorders among college students is estimated to be between 8 and 17 % (Eisenberg et al., 2011). According to NEDA (2013), there is an unmet need for the identification and referral of students with eating disorders. The project’s aim was to increase the knowledge of and awareness about eating disorders on the college campus by educating resident assistants (RAs). RAs have daily interactions with students and contribute to the campus’ positive living and learning environment. To accomplish the goal, information about eating disorders was presented to the RAs at a monthly meeting. Through a PowerPoint presentation, RAs were informed about the most common eating disorders, how to recognize the signs and symptoms for the most common eating disorders, available eating disorder resources, and how to approach an individual with disordered eating behaviors. The attendees were asked to complete two evaluation forms following the presentation, initially and four weeks post presentation. The evaluation tools contained Likert-scale statements and open-ended questions. The initial evaluation was completed by 115 participants, and the follow-up evaluation was completed by 10 participants. Because the follow-up evaluation was only completed by 10 participants, the results of the second evaluation could not be compared to the initial evaluation. A majority of participants responded positively (agree or strongly agree) to the eating disorder presentation. The follow-up evaluation revealed that two individuals with disordered eating behaviors were recognized and referred for further evaluation. One recommendation for future research includes extending eating disorder training to other members on the college campus. | en_US |
