Guided Self Help for Eating Disorders Implementation Study

Sponsor
McMaster University
Study ID
NCT06851273
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Eating Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
12 Years - 100 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Guided Self Help Family Based Therapy (GSH FBT) — BEHAVIORAL
    Each family will participate in ten virtual sessions of GSH FBT with a trained GSH practitioner local to their provincial study site. Parents will meet their coach for a 60-minute onboarding session where the parents/caregivers are familiarized with the video platform used in treatment. Then, the treatment consists of ten virtual 20-minute sessions over 6 months. In GSH FBT, the parents weigh the adolescent patient prior to the session, on the same day as the session, and report the weight to the coach. Throughout treatment, parents have access to an online platform with a series of videos that outline the core components of FBT: the urgency to act, parental empowerment, medical complications, strategies to use during and after mealtime, and how to externalize the illness. In line with GSH approaches, coach-therapists direct parents to watch or review videos and text content rather than directly affecting behavioral change.

Study Details

Eating disorders are amongst the most understudied illnesses affecting young women in Canada. Further, mortality rates are amongst the highest of all psychiatric illnesses. Despite their high prevalence and mortality rates, research into adolescent eating disorders is underfunded in Canada. In addition to the problem of research underfunding, healthcare system underfunding exists - creating long waiting lists and fragmented care for children and youth with eating disorders. More efficient treatments are urgently needed to reduce wait times and provide expedited care to adolescents on eating disorder waitlists. The current study aims to assess whether implementing a virtual parent-lead therapy, Guided Self Help Family-Based Therapy (GSH FBT) might alleviate wait times for eating disorder services and also reduce eating disorder symptomatology in young people with anorexia nervosa. This study also aims to determine the experiences of both families and medical teams of GSH FBT implementation as an intervention.

Key Dates

First listed
Feb 28, 2025
Start date
Apr 28, 2026
Status verified
May 2026
Primary completion
Aug 30, 2027
Completion
Dec 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
90 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

  • Experimental: Parents who have a child with anorexia nervosa
    Each participant will receive a series of pre-recorded videos, an electric scale, and a therapy manual ("Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder"). This will include content on empowering parents to renourish their child and interrupt binge/purge behaviors.

Primary Outcome Measure

Implementation success at participating sites, as measured by fidelity to GSH FBT model [ Time Frame: Immediately after each session throughout the 10-week protocol ]

Central Contacts

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