Professional Resources

Research-Practice Integration

AED Research-Practice Initiative

Access the AED Guidelines for Research-Practice Integration, created by the AED Research-Practice Committee in an effort to advance research and practice partnership in the field of eating disorders. Accompanying the general guidelines is the AED Action Plan which outlines a strategic plan for research-practice integration within the AED.

History of the AED Research-Practice Initiative

The AED Research-Practice Initiative took form in 2007 following an informal survey¹ that posed two questions of 32 AED members:

1. There appears to be a researcher-clinician gap in our field. What do you think is the main cause of this gap?
2. What is one step we can take to close the gap?

The responses to this survey were uniformly thoughtful and united in their concern about the importance of finding effective ways to encourage research-practice integration. The responses also suggested that the impediments to research-practice integration were multi-layered and complex in nature.

The AED Research-Practice Committee (RPC) was then created and charged with the task of further exploring factors that block research-practice integration and developing a strategic plan for promoting partnership between researchers and practitioners.

Research-Practice Committee

2021-22 Co-Chairs:

• Lauren Muhlheim, Co-Chair 
• Rachel Presskreischer, Co-Chair

2021-22 Committee Members:

• Kristen Anderson
• Kelsey Clark
• Gina Dimitropoulos 
• Seena Grewal
• Maria La Via 
• Helena Lewis-Smith 
• Caitlin McMaster 
• Claudia Paola Garcia Parker
• Abby Sarrett-Cooper 
• Ashlie Watters 
• Board Liaison: Karen Jennings Mathis 
• Staff Liaison: Dawn Gannon

The RPC developed the following mission and goals statement:

Mission: To improve the quality of research, clinical practice, and prevention in the field of eating disorders by facilitating an ongoing transfer of knowledge from research into practice and from practice into research, while working to eliminate the factors that result in polarization of these two critical aspects of our field.

Goals: The RPC aims to promote the development of an integrated research-practice culture within the AED by facilitating:

• the development of effective evidence-based practices, while ensuring that research remains focused upon, and relevant to, practice concerns;
• the development and sharing of innovative clinical practices and observations to guide the nature and direction of research; and
• the promotion of a culture of mutual respect across disciplines.

^{1The survey and responses are more fully described in: Banker, J., & Klump, K. (2007).  Toward a Common Ground:  Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice in the Field of Eating Disorders.  The AED Forum, January.}