Treatment Uptake Chatbot for Eating Disorders
Developing an Optimized Conversational Agent or "Chatbot" to Facilitate Mental Health Services Use in Individuals With Eating Disorders
2 other identifiers
interventional
205
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses associated with high morbidity and mortality, clinical impairment, and comorbid psychopathology. Although evidence-based treatments for EDs have been established, the treatment gap is wide. Indeed, \<20% of individuals with EDs receive treatment. There is need for a novel solution not only to identify individuals with EDs but also to encourage mental health services use and to address treatment barriers. This study aims to implement a conversational agent or "chatbot" that is optimized to increase mental health services use among individuals with EDs through such features as: 1) education on the seriousness and consequences of EDs; 2) engaging the user in motivational interviewing to overcome barriers to care; 3) providing a personalized recommendation for seeking intervention; 4) repeated check-ins with the user to encourage follow-up with care. This study will utilize a randomized optimization trial with adults who have completed screening on the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website and screen positive for an ED but are not in treatment to determine chatbot feasibility and to generate data on the effect of the chatbot on motivation for treatment and mental health services use. This trial will employ the Multiphase Optimization Strategy framework, using a 2\^4 full factorial design, to randomly assign participants to a combination of the four proposed intervention components (n=16 conditions) to isolate the active ingredients.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Mar 2021
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
March 9, 2021
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 11, 2021
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 19, 2021
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
March 9, 2022
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
May 9, 2022
CompletedResults Posted
Study results publicly available
October 11, 2023
CompletedOctober 11, 2023
September 1, 2023
1 year
March 11, 2021
May 24, 2023
September 18, 2023
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Rates of Treatment/Services Utilization for Eating, Shape, or Weight Concerns Among All Participants Randomized to the Intervention Following Online Eating Disorder Screening
Treatment utilization was measured at each follow-up time point (2, 6, and 14 weeks), which was assessed via the prompt, "Have you tried or used any type of mental health help (e.g., self-help app, telehealth/in-person counseling, etc.) for your concerns related to your eating, shape, or weight in the past \[2, 6, or 14\] weeks?". We defined a participant as having utilized treatment at the first time they responded, "yes" (vs. "no") to this question. The data presented below indicate the rates of self-reported receipt of treatment/services utilization among participants assigned (component on) or not assigned (component off) to each of the four chatbot components (motivational interviewing, psychoeducation, personalized recommendations, repeated administration), as delineated by each time point during which the aforementioned item was assesed.
2, 6, 14 Weeks from Engagement with the Intervention
Secondary Outcomes (2)
Mean Willingness to Seek Psychotherapy
Baseline, 2 Weeks, 6 Weeks, 14 Weeks
Mean Attitude Toward Change for Concerns Related to Eating, Shape, or Weight Concerns Among All Participants Randomized to the Intervention Following Online Eating Disorder Screening
Baseline, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 14 weeks
Study Arms (16)
Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALPersonalized Recommendation
EXPERIMENTALMotivational Interviewing
EXPERIMENTALCore Modules Only
EXPERIMENTALMotivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALMotivational Interviewing, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALMotivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation
EXPERIMENTALPersonalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Personalized Recommendation
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALPsychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration
EXPERIMENTALInterventions
A discussion with the chatbot, including follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including only the core modules.
A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- U.S. resident
- English-speaking
- Age 18 years or older
- Owns a personal smartphone
- Screens positive for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) clinical or subclinical eating disorder
- Not currently receiving treatment for an eating disorder
You may not qualify if:
- Non-U.S. resident
- Younger than 18 years old
- Does not own a personal smartphone
- Does not screen positive for a DSM-5 clinical or subclinical eating disorder
- Screens positive for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
- Currently receiving treatment for an eating disorder
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Results Point of Contact
- Title
- Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft
- Organization
- Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Ellen E Fitzsimmons-Craft, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine
Publication Agreements
- PI is Sponsor Employee
- No
- Restrictive Agreement
- No
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- FACTORIAL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 11, 2021
First Posted
March 19, 2021
Study Start
March 9, 2021
Primary Completion
March 9, 2022
Study Completion
May 9, 2022
Last Updated
October 11, 2023
Results First Posted
October 11, 2023
Record last verified: 2023-09
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share