Eisler 2006.
| Methods | Multi‐centre randomised treatment trial |
| Participants | Participants are referred to 5 eating disorder services (South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, St Georges and South West London NHS Trust , Blackwater Valley Primary Health Care Trust, Central & Northwest London Trust, The Child and Adolescent Eating Disorder Service of the Royal Free Hampstead Trust) Inclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria:
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| Interventions |
Intervention group 1 Description: Inpatient treatment "Inpatient treatment is based around a carefully structured nursing regimen, the main aims of which are: 1. To form a therapeutic alliance 2. To achieve weight restoration Other members of the multidisciplinary team provide additional therapeutic input depending on the needs of individual participants. Participants allocated to inpatient treatment will be admitted to a specialist Eating Disorder Unit for approximately 12 weeks. The actual length of inpatient stay will be determined by the time needed for each individual participant to reach a healthy weight. The study design, however, will limit the length of time from reaching a healthy weight to discharge from hospital to 2 weeks. Following discharge from hospital they will receive regular follow‐up treatment for 6 months for themselves and their families. To ensure continuity of treatment the therapist responsible for the follow‐up treatment will engage the participant and her family during the last 2 weeks of the inpatient stay" (from website: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN11275465). Length: 12 months (inpatient stay plus follow‐up) Intervention group 2 Description: Family‐based therapy Outpatient therapy. "These are mainly conjoint family meetings, although some individual sessions are included where appropriate (particularly with older adolescents at later stages of the treatment)" (from website: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN11275465). Length: 12 months Intervention group 3 Description: Multi‐family day treatment (MFTD) "MFDT is a new treatment programme that has been developed over the past 3 years at the Maudsley Hospital and at the Eating Disorder Service in Dresden. The treatment provides a more intensive form of family intervention than the usual outpatient family therapy, but is conceptually very similar. In common with our outpatient family therapy, MFDT aims to help families rediscover their own resources by emphasising ways in which parents can take control of re‐nutrition. At the same time the families are encouraged to use the group setting to explore how the eating disorder and the interactional patterns in the family have become entangled, making it difficult for the family to follow the normal developmental course of the family life‐cycle. The sharing of experiences and the dynamics of the multiple family group are important components of the treatment. The treatment starts with an intensive one‐week multiple family day programme for up to 6 families and is followed by a further 4 to 5 one‐day meetings at 4‐ to 8‐week intervals. Individual family meetings are scheduled in the intervals between group meetings as needed, with the overall length of treatment for each family being 12 months. A wide range of intervention techniques is used (including group, family, psycho‐educational and creative techniques) with multiple family, parent or adolescent groups as well as individual family meetings. There is also practical input around managing mealtimes and food" (from website: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN11275465). Length: 12 months |
| Outcomes | Primary outcomes: 1. Symptomatic change: a. BMI (kg/m2) b. SEED symptomatology c. EDE d. C‐EDE 2. Health economic costs a. Client service receipt inventory Secondary outcomes: 1. Participants/family satisfaction questionnaire 2. Experience of caregiving |
| Notes | www.controlled‐trials.com (2007) ISRCTN11275465 |