Anorexia Nervosa: A Narrative Review and Conceptual Practice Model

Abstract

Per every 100,000 persons internationally, 9.4 healthy life years were lost due to Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa requires intensive care from a multitude of healthcare professionals; however, while occupational therapists are distinctly suited to assist, a paucity of literature exists that articulates the profession’s role. This paper presents a conceptual model of occupational therapy practice for individuals with Anorexia Nervosa informed by multidisciplinary literature. Guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance Model, an analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic factors’ impact on occupation provides the basis for model development. Implications for occupational therapists are offered across processes of eating disorder assessment and intervention.

Keywords:

• Anorexia Nervosa
• eating disorders
• occupational therapy
• mental health

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their classmates for their support in the Clinical Doctorate of Occupational Therapy course where the model was developed, and Lauren E. Milton, OTD, OTR/L for her mentorship.

Disclosure statement

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