Disordered Eating assessment overview

Introduction 

This HealthAdvisor Assessment (HA) is a preventive tool that aims to improve health outcomes while also driving consumer engagement and patient acquisition. To achieve both, it gathers and weighs users’ self-reported information to gauge whether their health and wellbeing are at risk from a potential eating disorder, with the goal of encouraging those at risk to make an appointment with their healthcare provider. Even if a user’s responses don’t indicate a current need for specialized support, the assessment is designed to educate and empower them to seek treatment should that change, and to contact a healthcare provider with any questions or concerns. 

Data-driven design

WebMD Ignite HealthAdvisor utilizes clinical propensity models to identify consumers with a high likelihood of need for your goal service, and that data informs the content and function of this assessment. With most users taking a next step following completion of the assessment, your custom calls to action can be a key driver in motivating an already highly-activated audience.

Medical basis and rigorous review

This assessment’s definition and calculation of risk are rooted in criteria and guidance from sources like the DSM-5, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Institutes of Health, among others. And like all of our content, the entire assessment is rigorously reviewed and updated according to the standards outlined below:

Three-tier peer review of all content 

• Initial clinician review
• External review by SMEs across full range of clinical expertise
• Final clinician review

Continuous review of 180+ sources

• Every content asset reviewed on a 24-month cycle
• Expedited revisions of applicable pieces for any change in clinical standards
• Real-time content creation for emerging issues (e.g. COVID-19)

Product description

The HA determines a user’s risk level based on the number and severity of risk factors they report, including, among others:

• Health history and prior treatment
• Hospitalization or medical complications related to eating or weight
• Current behaviors and compensatory practices
• Physical symptoms potentially linked to disordered eating
• Body image distress or preoccupation with weight/shape

Once complete, the assessment gathers the user’s contact information and generates a results page on which a relative risk level is assigned to each of their responses, with more in-depth information provided for 5 common risk factors. It also provides an overall result based on the user’s cumulative risk level.

Overall results

While the results page displays more granular and nuanced information for explanatory and educational purposes, the overall assessment generates one of two primary messaging outcomes: 

• The user’s answers tell us that disordered eating may be putting their health and wellbeing at [moderate, medium, or high] risk
  • Users with this result are encouraged to make an appointment with their healthcare provider.
• The user’s answers tell us that disordered eating likely isn’t putting their health and wellbeing at risk at this time
  • Users with this result are encouraged to stay up-to-date on their risk factors and recommended screenings, and to consult with their healthcare provider if they have any questions.