The National Eating Disorder Screening Program® excels at helping
students assess their eating behaviors
A single number never tells the whole story, but for the thousands of college
students struggling with negative body image, the number on the scale can define
everything: the way they look, the way they feel and how they are perceived by
others.
During college, maintaining a positive body image can be challenging, especially
when everyone seems obsessed with appearances. To raise awareness about this
important issue, NEDSP encouraged colleges nationwide to offer free anonymous
screenings to students during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, February
22-28.
This year’s NEDSP program was a huge success: 425 colleges participated and more
than 5,300 students took an online screening from February 1st to March 8th.
NEDSP has always been successful in helping students screen themselves for eating
disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. This year, however, the program reached
even more students by placing an advertisement on the social networking site
Facebook and targeting eating disorder advocacy groups through this site.
This strategy proved to be successful in increasing the number of students
screened. The NEDSP Facebook ad ran during National Eating Disorders Awareness
Week. It appeared on students’ Facebook accounts with the message: “Unhealthy
Eating? Taking extreme measures toward food? Take an eating disorders risk
questionnaire for students.” When clicked, it brought students to their
college’s online screening.
Besides targeting students through Facebook, NEDSP approached campus media by
sending customized press releases to newspapers of colleges and universities
participating in the online screening program. The releases linked students to
their school’s online screening Web page.
All of these strategies contributed to making 2009 a very
successful year for NEDSP. When asked how they learned about the program,
students gave the following answers:
|
How did you hear about the online screening?
|
|
College health or counseling center
|
1200
|
|
Facebook ad
|
779
|
|
Facebook group |
24 |
|
Word of mouth
|
86
|
|
News story
|
71 |
|
Other
|
73
|
|
No response |
136
|
|
Total
|
3028
|
Thank you for making this year’s program so successful. If you have any
questions or comments, please contact us at 781-239-0071 or
college@mentalhealthscreening.org.