Unmet health care needs among women at risk for developing an eating disorder in Canada: A structural perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper used a structural perspective to examine unmet healthcare needs in women at risk for eating disorders in Canada utilizing the Canadian Community Health Survey. The results revealed that body dissatisfied women had reported significantly higher unmet needs compared to body satisfied women (χ ²(1) =29.31, p < .05). Body dissatisfied women were also more likely to identify structural reasons for unmet needs. Considering the high costs associated with eating disorders, barriers creating inequitable health services need to be addressed in clinical practice, organizational structures, policy, and in research to improve treatment pathways.

KEYWORDS:

• Social determinants of health
• access to health care
• eating disorders
• unmet health care needs
• barriers

Acknowledgments

The data in this paper is part of a larger study published within the author’s dissertation (Hotte, 2018).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).