Adolescent Chatbot (EMBody)

The Washington University

Status and phase: Enrolling; Phase 2

Conditions: Disordered Eating Behaviors; Eating Disorder Prevention; Body Image Disturbance

Treatments: Behavioral: Wysa Digital Chatbot Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07094503

202501059

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to test an eating disorders prevention digital chatbot program in a diverse group of adolescents.

Full description

Eating disorders (EDs) are impacting youth at extreme rates, with up to 22% of adolescents reporting ED symptoms, and are associated with very high psychiatric comorbidity. Since adolescence is a critical period for the onset of eating disorders, prevention during this stage is essential to reducing lifetime prevalence. Interventions have been developed to prevent the onset of these devastating disorders, but these programs are generally not publicly available and rarely offer support for addressing comorbidity or the unique needs of vulnerable subpopulations (e.g., low-income populations, sexual and gender minorities, racial/ethnic minorities, those from rural areas), who are even less likely to have access to high-quality care. One scalable, engaging, easy-to use, and convenient approach to increasing access to evidence-based EDs prevention for underserved groups involves using a chatbot. This project will adapt our team's existing EDs prevention chatbot for use with adolescents, including those from diverse backgrounds, and evaluate its effectiveness. Our deep industry and non-profit partnerships will ensure scalability and ultimate real-world impact.

Enrollment: 400 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. 13 - 17 years old
2. Owns a smartphone
3. Speaks English
4. US resident
5. Screens as at-risk for an eating disorder
6. Not currently in treatment for an eating disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Below 13 or older than 17 years of age

2. Does not own a smartphone

3. Does not speak English

4. Lives outside the US

5. Screens as:

   1. Having a subclinical or clinical ED
   2. Not at risk for an ED
   3. In treatment for an ED

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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400 participants in 2 patient groups

Chatbot Intervention Condition

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive access to the digital chatbot program featuring 5 CBT based modules for 3 months. Modules include psychoeducation and CBT-based exercises on regular eating and improving body image.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Wysa Digital Chatbot Program

Waitlist Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants receive access to the digital chatbot program after 6 months and completion of the study.