ENGL 111 Argumentative Essay copy

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 Treatment of Eating Disorders in Primary Care Settings ENGL 111: English Composition Dr. Woodruff December 16, 2022

2 Audience Description My audience consists of primary care physicians and medical doctors working in medical clinics, facilities, and group practices. Medical doctors and family primary care physicians are affected by eating disorders because typically, when an individual realizes they potentially have an eating disorder, they will first go to a doctor. The doctor then, if they see fit, will diagnose the disorder, or refer the individual to a psychiatrist. The first appointment an individual has with a medical professional for a potential eating disorder could be life and death. If primary care physicians and medical doctors understood the warning signs of an eating disorder, then they could potentially save an individual from needing a higher level of care, which would cost significantly more than medical appointments. Medical issues that occur in disordered eating could be prevented if a doctor was able to recognize the illness. Primary care physicians need to expand their knowledge about eating disorders; they need to understand that mental disorders are not a cry for attention, but a cry for help. My audience consists of physicians and medical doctors who have minimal education about eating disorders. They know about anorexia, but think it is only about wanting to be thin. They have heard about bulimia and that people affected will make themselves vomit food consumed to lose weight. They have no education about binge eating disorder, other specified food and eating disorder (OSFED), avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), or body dysmorphia. Physicians and doctors in my audience assume that eating disorders occur only in white females aged fifteen to twenty-five, since that fits the stereotype. My audience does not believe that eating disorders, nor mental health in general, are means for concern. This will work against my purpose for writing, seeing that I am arguing that they need to learn about each condition and have more training to treat eating disorders. The practitioners in my audience are

3 uneducated about the growing number of eating disorder cases globally. I believe that my audience is slightly aware of medical complications associated with eating disorders, which breeds personal concern for a person’s health and safety. My audience does not have a stance for action, with the goal for my essay to spark action. My audience contains doctors working in the fields of general family medicine and general practice. These doctors work in local medical facilities accessible to all genders and ages. They are between thirty-five and sixty-five years of age, as it takes extensive time for an individual to complete schooling and doctoral residency. The doctors in the audience practice in the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky because there is a lack of eating disorder treatment facilities and Family-Based Therapy Primary Care trained individuals in these states. The audience is sixty percent male and forty percent female. All doctors have been in practice for at least five years and are in the upper-middle class socioeconomically. Most of the members of the audience are married and have families or are wanting to start a family. For the doctors who have families, the age of the children is between five to fifteen years of age. This is important to include because eating disorder signs and symptoms may start to appear in children aged twelve to sixteen. The children are involved in extracurricular activities and are often away from the home. The doctors who are parents are often away from home as well, which negatively affects their children. Most of the people in my audience go to church on Sunday. Sometimes, people who attend church believe that mental health issues are simply “sin issues,” which can work against my argument that doctors need to treat eating disorders from a medical point of view. My audience will benefit from this topic by being able to treat another medical condition, which would allow them to have more patients. Since the cases of eating disorders are rising, more doctors should be willing to treat and know more about eating disorders, since it’s

4 becoming more likely they will encounter patients with eating disorders. The earlier the diagnosis and the earlier treatment starts, the better the outcome. It will save the patients and their families money and time if they can start treatment options as soon as possible. Doctors usually get paid by the number of patients they treat, so they would be making more revenue. If I can convince my audience, they would act by learning about Family Based Therapy for Primary Care Physicians and start educational training to become FBT-PC certified. They can also act by accepting and treating eating disorders as medical and psychological conditions. Primary care physicians need to know about effective treatment methods, weight restoration and management for those underweight, nutritional needs, and therapeutical strategies to help manage the illness. Medical doctors go through extensive medical and biological education before they practice on patients. However, education on mental health disorders, especially eating disorders, is quite limited. Since eating disorders have both medical and psychological factors involved, I think they will be able to recognize the burden it places on a person. They aren’t very prepared to understand my argument, so I am including facts and statistics about how detrimental an eating disorder is. Before my audience can make an honest decision about my topic, they need to understand that eating disorders can kill and that there is a significant lack of treatment in the United States. My writing should motivate my audience to start treating eating disorders in their clinical practice. I also intend for my audience to look into Family Based Treatment in Primary Care settings.

5 Treatment of Eating Disorders in Primary Care Eating disorders continue to show prevalence, especially in social media settings. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED) have an abundance of medical complications such as low heart rate, heart failure, electrolyte imbalance, low blood pressure, decaying teeth, amenorrhea, and even death. Each eating disorder has a variety of behaviors and symptoms, therefore, it can be difficult to detect the disorder when it is rampant in one’s life. Usually, when individuals seek treatment for their disorder, it is more likely that they will go to a medical doctor or primary care physician first, rather than a mental health therapist or clinic. Unfortunately, rates of detection and diagnosis among primary care physicians continues to be low. It is important for primary care physicians to recognize warning signs that an individual might be suffering with an eating disorder in order to treat them. Primary care physicians need to have extensive knowledge about how to diagnose, treat, and assess an individual with an eating disorder to encourage early detection of the conditon, to reduce the financial burden of needing a higher level of care, to eliminate the need of finding a mental health specialist, and for evidence-based treatment to be easily accessible. It is beneficial to be aware of the benefits of seeking eating disorder treatment from primary care physicians opposed to mental health specialists, the typical cost of treatment, early intervention, and Family-Based Treatment in Primary Care. Some may believe that detection and management for eating disorders should strictly be done by therapists and or psychologists in eating disorder treatment centers. Generally, eating disorder treatment consists of an individualized treatment team and plan, consisting of a mental health therapist, dietician, and psychiatrist. Treatment involves therapeutical services to treat the disorder, nutrition education and management of health for the individual affected, and

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