Augmenting Specialty Eating Disorder Clinical Treatment With a Smartphone Application

Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Eating Disorders

Treatments: Behavioral: Smartphone App; Behavioral: Standard Outpatient Treatment

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02484794

59093007

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most empirically supported and researched treatment for eating disorders. A central component of CBT for eating disorders is self-monitoring which involves patients keeping a paper food record of their meals and associated thoughts, feelings, and behaviours and receiving feedback from a clinician to help target dysfunctional cognitions and behaviours. Given the issues associated with paper journals such as non-compliance, feelings of shame when used in public, and delayed feedback, researchers have developed an evidence-based smartphone application (Recovery Record) for eating disorder self-monitoring that links patients with their clinicians and offers additional features designed to enhance treatment.

The current pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) seeks to evaluate this smartphone application in a clinical setting alongside standard eating disorder outpatient treatment. Patients will be recruited from the Nova Scotia Health Authority Eating Disorder Outpatient Program and randomised to receive either standard treatment or standard treatment with the app (instead of the paper food record). The efficacy and acceptability of both treatments will be assessed and compared. Coping skill use and self-efficacy among patients will also be examined given the skill building focus of treatment and in-app capabilities to deliver real-time coping skill suggestions to patients.

This pilot study will be the first to examine the efficacy and acceptability of a smartphone application in eating disorder clinical treatment and if successful, should provide preliminary support for the use of smartphone applications over traditional paper food journals as a self-monitoring tool for augmenting specialty eating disorder clinical treatment.

Enrollment: 91 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 17+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients with an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified) according to DSM-V criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) as determined through a standard clinical interview by either a team psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, and validated with a self-report diagnostic measure.
• Patients with an Apple or Android smartphone (a mobile phone with access to third-party applications and advanced features) with an active data plan or frequent (e.g., daily) Wi-Fi access.
• Patients 17 years or older.
• Signed consent from patient.

Exclusion criteria

• Patient has insufficient knowledge of English.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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91 participants in 2 patient groups

Treatment as Usual

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients will receive standard outpatient treatment that consists of group psychotherapy, skills training, self-monitoring, nutritional counselling, and meal support.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard Outpatient Treatment

Treatment with Smartphone App

Experimental group

Description:

Patients will receive the same standard outpatient treatment but will use the smartphone application instead of the paper food record. Patients in this group will receive daily feedback through the app, as opposed to weekly, but will still attend the weekly nutritional counselling group.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard Outpatient Treatment

Behavioral: Smartphone App