Eating Disorders: Social Media

(asked on 16th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 92 of the Women’s Health Strategy, following the analysis of the call for written evidence submissions, what steps his Department has taken to encourage research on the impacts of social media use on eating disorders, involving (a) experts in the field and (b) people with lived experience to identify (i) appropriate solutions and (ii) safeguards.


Answered by
Maria Caulfield Portrait
Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This question was answered on 21st December 2022

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). While the NIHR is not currently funding any specific research, it welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including eating disorders. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence a proportion of its budget for research into particular topics or conditions.

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