Caring for Yourself is Caring for Your Child: Helping Parents of Children with Eating Disorders Seek Health Care for Themselves

Abstract

It is not always easy to change health behaviors. Just imagine how many times you have been told to do something “good” for your health, and you have ignored the message. The purpose of the “Caring for Yourself Is Caring for Your Child” case study is to demonstrate that formative research is an important part of developing effective messages to motivate behavior change. Formative research helps trained communicators know what might change their target audience’s behavior. This case focuses on how students created messages to motivate parents of children with eating disorders, in particular, attempting to promote stress reduction strategies among parental caregivers. Decreasing parents’ stress and anxiety levels can ultimately aid in a child’s recovery because many parents are more likely to be energized, confident, and better able to administer prescribed treatments.