CPG for Eating Disorders

section), and d) time-frame for therapeutic assessment. Following the therapeutic decision, theITP will be presented to the patient and family, informing them on: a) health care professionalswho will be involved in treatment, b) techniques that will be employed, c) duration, and d)time-frame for assessment.The degree of nutritional deterioration, along with the presence or absence ofcomplications, determine the selection of access and feeding route, as well as the location wherenutritional follow-up must be performed.The day care treatment programme includes meal monitoring, and patients must complete asurvey on the foods they ingest in 24 hours, including on weekends when they are away from thecentre. Each patient must be medically and nutritionally assessed at least once a week, weightand related medical symptoms must be monitored, requested blood work must be assessed ifnecessary, and the dietary survey and objectives must be reviewed. In inpatient care, nutritionalsupport with artificial nutrition must be strictly monitored to avoid or manage the onset of therefeeding syndrome.8.1.3. Other resourcesMutual help groups (MHG) are groups of people who meet voluntarily with the aim ofhelping each other. They are generally comprised of individuals who share the same problem orwho find themselves in a similar difficult situation. The MHG emphasises personal interactionand each member’s capacity to assume responsibilities. It tends to provide emotional help andpromote values that help members strengthen their own sense of self. These groups provideassistance and emotional support to families and patients, facilitating the success of thecorresponding therapy. Groups are guided by facilitators (people who have experienced thesame problem or situation as the participants) and are periodically aided by a professional whosupervises the intervention and provides instruments to improve group dynamics (See Annex3.2. Support associations for patients with eating disorders and their families).Counselling consists of performing a series of personal interviews with patients andrelatives to inform and educate on the disease and its main health, family and socialconsequences, as well as to provide guidance on the current situation of health care, legal,economic and social resources, with the objective of reassuring and assisting the patient and/orfamily.Day centres are public sociosanitary resources that accommodate patients with differentlong-term disorders, including cases of chronic eating disorders and cases with psychiatriccomorbidity. These centres provide, amongst other activities and interventions, rehabilitation(tertiary prevention). In our setting there are no public day centres aimed exclusively at patientswith eating disorders.Therapeutic apartments (assisted or not) constitute another public network resource thatenables social reinsertion of patients suffering from different disorders. In our public networkthere are no apartments specifically for eating disorder patients.CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR EATING DISORDERS80