Collaborative professional education for carers of those with eating disorders

This paper describes the effectiveness of a 6‐hour education programme to provide skills, knowledge and support to carers about how to best support patients with eating disorders. Based on a philosophy of mutual and ongoing support and learning, this programme brought together community groups of professionals, carers and advocates to present and participate in the programme. Pretest and post‐test measures of the programme's effectiveness were administered to 81 participants (N = 81) across multiple‐programme presentations in different locations in the USA. A paired form of analysis showed significant effect sizes on carers' knowledge, skill and understanding of eating disorders. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.