# Development and evaluation of a web-based toolkit to inform mental health professionals about digital mental health interventions for eating disorders

## TL;DR

A web-based toolkit was developed and evaluated to help mental health professionals learn about digital interventions for eating disorders, showing positive attitudes but highlighting a need for more knowledge.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel web-based toolkit designed to educate mental health professionals about digital interventions for eating disorders.

## Key findings

- The toolkit received high ratings for website clarity, visual aesthetics, and system usability.
- Mental health professionals showed positive attitudes toward digital interventions for eating disorders.
- Perceived usefulness was moderate, while relative advantage and attitudes toward anorexia nervosa were lower.

## Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental disorders that often remain untreated for many years. Digital mental health interventions could provide low-threshold support especially in underserved areas. However, the knowledge of mental health professionals (MHPs), who could integrate such interventions into routine care, is still limited.

This study aimed at the development and evaluation of a web-based toolkit to provide evidence-based knowledge about digital interventions for EDs for MHPs.

A mixed methods design was chosen to iteratively evaluate the toolkit. First, three focus groups with 16 MHPs were conducted, who tested the toolkit and gave feedback. Then, N = 66 MHPs completed an online survey with self-developed questionnaires on the perceived quality of the toolkit and its modules. Further, several scales were used to measure website clarity (Web-CLIC), visual aesthetics (VisAWI-S), system usability (SUS), e-therapy attitudes (ETAM) and elements of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).

The focus groups resulted in a number of suggestions that were used to improve the toolkit. The results of the quantitative study showed that the toolkit reached high ratings in website clarity, visual aesthetics and system usability. E-therapy attitudes were positive in 51 (77.3%) cases. While perceived usefulness was M = 2.75 (SD = 0.62, range = 1-3.86), relative advantage remained lower with M = 1.08 (SD = 0.54, range = 0-2.5). Results following the concept of UTAUT, showed a medium Behavioural Intention to use digital interventions for their patients with M = 3.60 (SD = 1.01) and a medium Performance Expectancy of M = 3.50 (SD = 0.93) with lower values for anorexia nervosa than for other kinds of EDs.

In general, MHPs show positive attitudes towards the use of digital interventions for patients with EDs to complement conventional psychotherapy. However, there is also a clear need for more knowledge in the field. The web-based toolkit may serve as a promising educational resource to meet the needs of MHPs. The effectiveness of the toolkit regarding learning success can be tested in future studies.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01518-1.

Eating disorders are serious mental disorders that often remain untreated for many years. Digital mental health interventions are therapeutic services for people with a mental disorder that can be delivered on electronic devices. They may support people in remote areas with limited access to a therapy. As these interventions are new, only few mental health professionals have sufficient knowledge about them. A web-based toolkit was developed to provide knowledge about digital interventions for eating disorders to them. The toolkit was evaluated through group discussions with mental health professionals. The toolkit was then improved on the basis of the results. In the next step, 66 mental health professionals filled in an online survey and answered questions referring to their opinions about the usefulness and relevance of the toolkit. The professionals showed generally positive attitudes towards the use of digital interventions for patients with eating disorders. However, there is also a clear need for more knowledge in this area. The web-based toolkit may serve as a promising educational resource to meet the needs of mental health professionals.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01518-1.