Implementing highly specialized and evidence-based pediatric eating disorder treatment: protocol for a mixed methods...

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Implementation Science
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Background:

• Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa) significantly impact adolescent females, carrying severe health risks.
• Existing research highlights a treatment fidelity gap, where best practices are not consistently applied in clinical settings.
• A critical need exists to translate evidence-based treatments into routine care for improved adolescent outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reduce the discrepancy between evidence-based eating disorder treatments and their delivery in clinical practice.
• To enhance the capacity of therapists in Ontario to implement family-based treatment (FBT) for eating disorders.
• To evaluate an implementation strategy for FBT using established theoretical frameworks.

Main Methods:

• A multi-site, mixed-methods pre/post case study design was employed across four eating disorder treatment programs.
• Intervention included a training workshop on FBT and ongoing monthly supervision for therapists.
• Implementation teams received monthly coaching calls, and outcomes were assessed via fidelity evaluations of therapy sessions and qualitative focus groups.

Main Results:

• The study is the first to evaluate an implementation strategy for evidence-based eating disorder treatments.
• Challenges encountered included securing multi-site ethics approval and participant recruitment.
• Data collection involved quantitative fidelity assessments and qualitative analysis of implementation processes.

Conclusions:

• This research pioneers the evaluation of an implementation strategy for evidence-based eating disorder treatments.
• Findings will guide future efforts to effectively implement best practices in eating disorder care.
• The study contributes valuable insights into overcoming barriers in disseminating evidence-based interventions.