Significant alterations to cognitive functioning are commonly experienced by individuals with eating disorders, which may both increase risk for and maintain disordered eating behaviours. However, few cognitive assessment tools are available that equally meet the needs of researchers, clinicians, and end users, and there is little translation of effective evidence-based tools from research to clinical or self-help contexts. There are several barriers to this translation but importantly, while the value of incorporating lived and living experience perspectives within research and clinical practice is increasingly recognised, it remains rare within the development of cognitive assessments.

Further, exploring ways in which we can leverage technology to provide sustainable, accessible, and user-friendly services represents a critical current challenge and opportunity for the mental health field generally and for the eating disorders field specifically. However, while online self-assessment inventories of clinical symptoms are now common, and e-clinic and self-help treatment services are rapidly expanding, these innovations are yet to extend to the assessment of cognitive functioning.

This multi-phase project aims to co-design a new version of a psychometrically robust cognitive assessment tool such that it is attractive and accessible to clinicians and end users in the eating disorder field. Our ultimate aim, to embed this tool within an e-clinic setting, will provide a valuable source of data to researchers and clinicians that is fun and engaging for users while supporting their self-knowledge, hope, and help-seeking, and will be a novel contribution to the field.