Translating evidence-based treatment for digital health delivery: a protocol for family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa using telemedicine

Journal of Eating Disorders

A. Hambleton¹  J. Miskovic-Wheatley¹  S. Touyz²  S. Maguire³  M. Cunich⁴  D. Le Grange⁵ 

[1] InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, The Boden Collaboration for Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, The Boden Collaboration for Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, The Boden Collaboration for Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;Sydney Local Health District, NSW Health, St Leonards, Australia;The Boden Collaboration for Obesity, Nutrition & Eating Disorders, Faculty of Medicine and Health (Central Clinical School), The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;Sydney Health Economics Collaborative, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, NSW, Australia;UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA;

关键词: Anorexia nervosa;    Cost-consequence analysis;    Inequalities;    Eating disorder;    Covid-19;    Young people;    Telemedicine;    Telemedicine;    Family-based treatment;    Rural health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-020-00328-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFamily-based treatment (FBT) is an efficacious outpatient intervention for young people diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). To date, treatment to protocol has relied on standard face-to-face delivery. Face-to-face therapy is subject to geographic, temporal and human factors, rendering it particularly susceptible to inequities and disruption. This has resulted in poorer service provision for rural and regional families, and recently a significant challenge to providing face-to-face services during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The present study examines whether FBT for AN can be successfully translated to a digital delivery platform to address these access issues.MethodForty young people aged 12 to 18 years who meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AN, and live in a rural or regional setting, will along with their family be recruited to the study. Trained therapists will provide 18 sessions of FBT over 9 months via telemedicine to the home of the young person and their family. The analysis will examine treatment effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness.DiscussionThe study addresses the treatment needs of families not able to attend face-to-face clinical services for evidence-based treatment for eating disorders. This might be due to several barriers, including a lack of local services or long travel distances to services. There has been a recent and unprecedented demand for telemedicine to facilitate the continuity of care during COVID-19 despite geographical circumstances. If delivering treatment in this modality is clinically and economically effective and feasible, it will facilitate access to potentially lifesaving, evidence-based treatments for families formerly unable to access such care and provide evidence for the continuity of services when and where face-to-face treatment is not feasible.

【 授权许可】

CC BY