Research Opportunities

Please feel free to participate in the research study below and/or pass along to others! A flyer is attached

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The Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) at the University of Kansas is proud to launch a research study to improve representation of Black, Afro-Caribbean, African American postpartum individuals in research on body image and eating disorders.

 

Science has left out the voices of Black, African American, and Afro-Caribbean individuals because of systemic racism and exploitative practices. As such, past eating disorder screening tools were developed primarily for White individuals and do not work as well for Black, African American, and Afro-Caribbean individuals. This is a huge problem because we know that some eating disorders, including binge-eating disorder, occur more commonly among Black and Latine communities than in other ethnic and racial groups. Without an accurate screening tool, individuals could "fall through the cracks" of the healthcare system and not get help they need.

 

We invite you to help contribute to representation in eating-disorders research by sharing your experiences with eating and body image. You do not need to have a history of body image problems or an eating disorder to participate. Everyone is welcome and everyone's voices are important to us. We will use information you share with us to develop the first screening tool for Black, African American, and Afro-Caribbean postpartum individuals. Findings from the study will be presented via a newsletter and/or a town hall event so that you can hear how your input contributed to the new screening tool.

 

This study is overseen and approved by the University of Kansas IRB.

 

 

 

First, you will be asked to complete an online 40-minute survey. Questions will ask you about your postpartum experiences, eating and nutrition, body image, and mood concerns. For us to best understand your experiences, the online survey will ask detailed questions about you, your family, your education/work background, your income, and various aspects of your identity. We are asking more detailed questions about demographic background than some studies. The reason we are asking detailed demographic questions is because many past studies focus only on race and ignore other key factors that lead to health disparities, such as socioeconomic status and discrimination experiences that are caused by systemic oppression and racism.

 

We will use this information to help us ensure that the screening tool we create is inclusive of many intersecting identities and works well across a range of diverse groups. Without sufficient representation of Black, African American, and Afro-Caribbean individuals and other intersecting identities, there is a limited understanding of how we can best detect, treat, and prevent eating concerns during pregnancy and postpartum. You are free to skip any question that makes you feel uncomfortable and may discontinue your participation at any time without penalty.

 

As a token of our appreciation, you will receive a $50 gift card for completing the online survey.

 

• To be eligible, you must:

 

If you are interested in participating, please click on the following link to the online survey: https://redcap.link/a8psb4al