Research & policy publications
Butterfly participates in research studies and develops policy submissions in the areas of eating disorders and body image.
We seek to inform and influence mental health policy and support innovative service development by drawing on the best available evidence. Our policy analysis is also informed by collaboration with others in the sector, our direct service experience and our relationships with people affected by eating disorders and negative body image.
Requests for involvement in research studies
Butterfly is very supportive of research being conducted into eating disorders or body image that will enrich our knowledge base, and is open to receiving requests to partner with researchers on new projects and/or promote existing research opportunities to our community.
Partnering on projects and grants
If you have a new collaborative research proposal that you wish to discuss with us, please review the priority list below and assess whether your proposal meets any of these criteria.
Priority areas for assessment of collaborative research proposals:
- Meaningful involvement of lived experience in the development and implementation of the project
- Amount of funding to be included in the application for allocation to Butterfly to contribute to costs of administering our lived experience engagement mechanisms, promotional activities, consultation and/or other forms of support for the project.
- Addressing the needs of population groups currently under-researched and under-served within the current system of care.
- Involvement of Butterfly services, programs or other activities and how they may benefit from the research project.
If you would like to submit a proposal, please provide the following information to research@butterfly.org.au:
- A short plain language summary of your research proposal (up to a page)
- An outline of how your research proposal addresses any of Butterfly’s priority areas (up to 2 pages)
- An outline of how you will share your research findings with Butterfly at publication stage so that we can share the findings with our community (up to a page).
Promoting research recruitment
For requests to promote recruitment for existing research studies via Butterfly’s social media channels, please email your request to comms@butterfly.org.au with your participant information sheet and evidence of Human Research Ethics Committee approval. Please allow at least 1-2 months notice before the recruitment deadline.
For queries relating to engagement with the members of our lived experience network, the Butterfly Collective please email your request to butterflycollective@butterfly.org.au with your participant information sheet and evidence of Human Research Ethics Committee approval
For your research to be listed with the National Eating Disorders Collaboration please email info@nedc.com.au.
Butterfly Reports
Butterfly’s new report reveals the ongoing and devastating economic and social impacts of eating disorders in Australia and highlights the need for immediate action.
Produced more than a decade after the first edition in 2012, Paying the Price comes at a critical time. Both prevalence and cost have increased in the past 10 years – by 21% and 36%, respectively.
In May 2024, Butterfly co-hosted a roundtable discussion at Parliament House with Ms Zoe Daniel MP, presenting 21 urgent recommendations to tackle the effects of social media on the body image and mental health of young people in Australia, developed by a working group of eating disorder sector and tech experts and individuals with lived experience.
Our new Community Insights Report explores community perceptions on the prevalence, presentation, and impacts of eating disorders. We also wanted to understand the drivers and barriers to seeking support by those at risk or experiencing symptoms, and understand misconceptions to target stigma-reduction efforts.
Eating disorders are a group of mental health conditions associated with high levels of psychological distress and significant sociocultural factors. Eating disorders affect around 4.5 per cent of the Australian population – approximately 1.1 million people in any given year.
Developed by Butterfly through sector and lived experience consultation, The Eating Disorders Peer Workforce Guidelines set out principles to guide eating disorder peer work and clarify minimum education, training, recruitment, supervision and safe practice standards to support the ongoing development of a safe, effective and sustainable peer workforce for eating disorders. Find out more about this project.
In 2021, Butterfly Foundation opened the country’s first residential treatment facility, Wandi Nerida. This study, conducted by researchers at Western Sydney University examined how well this treatment service helped people, and provides insights into whether residential treatment should be made more widely available. The aims were to investigate the program’s effectiveness in working with people with eating disorders to improve mental and physical health, and to aid the realisation of their life potential. The researchers also explored the experiences of loved ones and Wandi Nerida staff, and compared some outcomes with another health care providers.
No matter your size, shape, age, abilities, gender identity, sexuality, cultural or linguistic background, economic status, profession or location, anyone can experience an eating disorder and the research into who is affected is growing.
In 2022, Butterfly commissioned Kantar Public to undertake research to explore the current landscape of peer work in the treatment and management of eating disorders. Specifically, this research explores the value offered by ED peer work and considers the conditions for how to optimise this workforce.
Stigmatising attitudes toward mental illness such as anxiety and depression have lessened as they have become better understood by community, but the variable intensity and incidence of stigma surrounding eating disorder diagnoses remains less understood. Butterfly surveyed 25 people with lived experience to explore the impact of self-stigma and structural stigma, with the awareness that understanding different types of stigma experienced by people with eating disorders must be central to the development of effective communications, service responses, and public policy.
U1 was engaged by Butterfly to conduct user research and testing on the customer journey, identifying existing gaps and highlighting pain points encountered when accessing eating disorder/body image resources and services.
In October 2021, Butterfly approached our strategic advisory body, the Lived Experience Community Insights Group (LECIG), and our broader online community, the Butterfly Collective, to participate in an exploratory exercise to develop an in-depth understanding of the experiences of people within the eating disorder system of care, either for themselves, or in support of a loved one. The process delivered a unique set of insights into how the system of care is experienced from a user perspective.
This research explores the knowledge and attitudes of the community around body image issues and eating disorders. We wanted to understand the existing community perceptions on the prevalence, presentation and impacts of eating disorders/body image issues and the stigma surrounding these issues; and the drivers and barriers to seeking support those at risk of / experiencing an eating disorder.
In 2021, Butterfly, in collaboration with Monash University, conducted the world’s most comprehensive literature review on eating disorders and disordered eating during the COVID pandemic. The global review of 72 studies found that young people and those with existing eating-related issues were most at risk of being impacted by COVID-19. Access the full paper here.
Download lived experience PERSPECTIVE summary
Download CARER PERSPECTIVE summary
A report to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Butterfly Foundation, providing an evaluation of the outcomes of the Sunshine Coast Eating Disorders Access Trial by a consortium of evaluation, research and eating disorder experts, including Flinders University of South Australia and the University of Sunshine Coast.
Evaluation objectives included investigation of:
1. The safety and effectiveness of Trial strategies and their impact on individuals with eating disorders and their families, service providers and health systems.
2. The role of affordability and professional development in accessing treatment for eating
disorders.
3. Other factors that influence access to treatment for eating disorders.
Research Report: The report explores the experience of adults recovering from an eating disorder in a professionally-led monthly support group.
The findings indicate that the support group provided a safe space to share lived experience, that it reduced stigma and isolation, and improved participants’ motivation and engagement. Furthermore, the results highlight the valuable role of the facilitator in balancing content with compassion, and potentially, fulfilling a valuable education function in supporting participants in their eating disorder recovery journey.
To ensure that everyone has equal access to eating disorder treatment and support, in 2020 Butterfly surveyed more than 550 people about barriers to accessing appropriate care for those living in regional, remote, and very remote areas of Australia. The results of the survey highlight the significant need for better access to support for those living outside of urban and suburban parts of the country.
Butterfly launched the results of a community survey about the Medicare Item Numbers for Eating Disorders, including recommendations to further support people to access the help they need.
The aim of this research was to provide a broad and nuanced understanding of the experience of carers caring for someone with an eating disorder. The report serves to broaden understanding of the impacts of being a carer, and also what types of support carers need. It also aims to inform the type of support Butterfly advocates for, on behalf of carers, to lessen the burdens of caring on the carer.
Over the past ten years, national and state-based eating disorder organisations have developed a substantial suite of documents on the evidence-based standards and practices of delivering effective treatment to people with eating disorders. The National Agenda for Eating Disorders brings together the evidence and consensus-based expert opinion behind these documents into a summary of the priorities for mental health system reform to address the needs of people with eating disorders and their families.
In late 2017 Butterfly Foundation conducted its first Insights in Body Esteem survey of Australians. The Insights in Body Esteem project aimed to discover the experience of those living in Australia over the age of 18 in relation to their body esteem, and the impact these feelings have on their day to day lives. This report was followed up with another survey in 2020, with comparable findings.
In 2016, in partnership with the Mental Health Commission of NSW, Butterfly launched Insights in Recovery. The findings have then been translated into a practical guide to help health professionals adopt a person-centred, recovery-orientated approach when working with patients experiencing an eating disorder. Below is an overview of the research.
Gaining insight into consumer experience is essential for effective implementation of mental health recovery policy.
Exploring what motivates people to engage in recovery and how they understand recovery in their lives may usefully
contribute to the development of effective practice. The below is designed for health practitioners working with people with eating disorders.
In 2014 Butterfly commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to undertake a cost benefit analysis of treatment for eating disorders in Australia. The report examines the cost-effectiveness of ‘treatment as usual’ versus ‘optimal treatment’ for eating disorders in Australia, using the prevalence trends and costing framework from the 2012 Deloitte Report, Paying the Price.
In 2012 Deloitte Access Economics was commissioned by Butterfly to examine the economic and social costs of eating disorders in Australia. This review was supported by an advisory panel of experts in eating disorders, mental health and population health.
Policy submissions
This submission provides an overview of body image and eating disorders research, a summary of the relationship between social media and the development of body image and eating disorders, a summary of Butterfly’s work with social media platforms to date, and our recommendations for reform on topics including (a) the use of age verification to protect Australian children from social media; (d) the algorithms, recommender systems and corporate decision making of digital platforms in influencing what Australians see, and the impacts of this on mental health; (e) other issues in relation to harmful or illegal content disseminated over social media, including scams, age-restricted content, child sexual abuse and violent extremist material; and (f) any related matters.
Some people may experience an eating disorder for the first time during menopause, while others may experience a relapse, or worsening of pre-existing eating disorder symptoms. Weight and hormonal changes, increased anxiety, low mood, and feelings of loss of control are not only symptoms of menopause, but also risk factors for eating disorders. To highlight this intersection, Butterfly prepared a Submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs Inquiry into Issues related to menopause and perimenopause.
In August 2023, Butterfly made a Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport Inquiry into Diabetes. In this submission we provide a brief overview of eating disorders and body image concerns in Australia, some research on the relationship between eating disorders and diabetes, and share feedback from our lived experience network, the Butterfly Collective.
In this submission we provide a brief overview of eating disorders and body image issues in Australia and information on manifestations of stigma and discrimination which are specific to eating disorders and body image concerns. We also share several lived experience perspectives on stigma which we have gathered over the past 18 months and hope that these voices will convey the importance of actions which address the specificity of eating disorder stigma and weight stigma across the Draft National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy.
In this submission we respond to the elements of the Auditor-General’s Performance Audit Report which relate to weight stigma and the intersection between eating disorder prevention and treatment and physical health promotion. We recommend that the ACT Government consider increased investment in eating disorder prevention programs as part of new strategy development.
Butterfly welcomes the Select Committee Inquiry into Social Media and Online Safety and the opportunity to contribute knowledge of social media and other digital spaces and their relationship to body image concerns and eating disorders. This submission discusses the significant body of evidence documenting the negative impacts of habitual social media use on body image, as well as Butterfly’s role within improving the safety of social media platforms.
The EDAA welcomes the Select Committee Inquiry into Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and values the opportunity to contribute to the implementation of mental health reforms in light of the findings of recent inquiries such as the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Mental Health and the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. This joint submission considers issues in the eating disorder system of care that were not given adequate consideration, and shares insights from new research and emerging findings from current projects, programs and activities being undertaken by EDAA members.
This submission provides an overview of eating disorders in Australia with a focus on children and young people. We highlight the importance of engaging with people affected by eating disorders, the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among children and adolescents, and challenges for areas for service improvement across the domains of prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery.
This submission responds to the questions set out in the Commonwealth Department of Health’s Scoping and development of a National Digital Mental Health Framework: Consultation Paper (November 2020).
Comments are focused on the needs and experiences of people affected by eating disorders and body image concerns, including families and carers.
This submission provides a response to the Commonwealth Department of Health’s Consultation on the 10 year preventive health strategy. In the case of eating disorders and body image issues, we highlight that the domains of physical and mental health are inextricably linked. Therefore, prevention efforts must take a holistic approach to ensure that initiatives targeting physical health do not inadvertently contribute to poor mental health. This submission also details information on areas of challenge within health promotion such as weight stigma, and information on children and young peoples’ body dissatisfaction.
We take a focus on the voices of those affected by eating disorders and negative body image and areas for policy and service improvement in the domain of prevention.
Economic impacts and funding:
Prevention and Early Intervention:
Suicide and Suicide Prevention:
As a leading provider of prevention, clinical and support services for eating disorders and negative body image issues across Australia, Butterfly engages regularly with rural and remote communities and the professionals who serve them. We have drawn on this expertise and the work of the National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC) to determine there is a significant need for further public awareness in regional and remote areas, and a focus on prevention and early intervention within these communities, to reduce stigma, encourage help-seeking and reduce the need for intensive tertiary care.