Assessing the Feasibility of an Intervention for Youth and Parents Transitioning to Adult Eating Disorder Services

NCT04888273 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 13303
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 19
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Teenagers with eating disorders often experience a disruption in care upon turning 18. At this age, they are no longer eligible to receive pediatric treatment but are also not yet set up with the appropriate adult services. There are currently no supports in place to help youth with eating disorders and their families during this transition from child to adult care. In this project, the investigators will be implementing an intervention designed to improve this transition experience; it will include peer support, parent education, a meeting with the child and adult care providers, contact with the family doctor, and a written guide about the transition. Among 10 adolescent-parent pairs leaving McMaster Children's Hospital to adult programs in Hamilton, Ontario, the investigators will assess how feasible the intervention is to implement, how feasible the chosen measures are, participants' experience of the intervention, how many adolescents actually transition to adult care, as well as a few adolescent and parent outcomes, such as how prepared the teen feels or what the parents' needs are.

Conditions

Eating Disorders; Eating Disorders in Adolescence

Keywords

healthcare transition; health services; adolescent medicine

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Proportion of Intervention Components Completed

  The investigators will capture the proportion of intervention components that were completed. This outcome will help to gather an understanding of the feasibility of the intervention. This quantitative outcome will be collected through Qualtrics via the Reflection Entries; these are short qualitative journal entries with prompts that each participant is asked to complete after completing each intervention component throughout their 3-month intervention period. The results regarding this outcome will be reported in a descriptive summary at the end of the study and integrated with the other data related to the feasibility of the intervention, both qualitative and quantitative.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Type of Intervention Components Completed

  The investigators will capture which of intervention components were completed as a feasibility indicator of the intervention. This outcome will help to gather an understanding of the feasibility of the intervention. This quantitative outcome will be collected through Qualtrics via the Reflection Entries. The results regarding this outcome will be reported in a descriptive summary at the end of the study and integrated with the other data related to the feasibility of the intervention, both qualitative and quantitative.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Average Duration of Time to Complete Each Intervention Component

  The investigators will capture how much time it took to complete each intervention components as a feasibility indicator of the intervention. This outcome will help to gather an understanding of the feasibility of the intervention. This quantitative outcome will be collected through Qualtrics via the Reflection Entries. The results regarding this outcome will be reported in a descriptive summary at the end of the study and integrated with the other data related to the feasibility of the intervention, both qualitative and quantitative.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Average Duration of Time to Complete the Intervention

  The investigators will capture how much time it took to complete the entire intervention as a feasibility indicator of the intervention. This outcome will help to gather an understanding of the feasibility of the intervention. This quantitative outcome will be collected through Qualtrics via the Reflection Entries. The results regarding this outcome will be reported in a descriptive summary at the end of the study and integrated with the other data related to the feasibility of the intervention, both qualitative and quantitative.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Adolescent Perceptions of the Feasibility of the Intervention

  The investigators will capture adolescent perceptions of feasibility of the entire intervention in the Post-Intervention Adolescent Interview. The quantitative and qualitative data related to this primary mixed methods outcome (Feasibility of the Intervention) will be integrated together at the data analysis phase.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Parent Perceptions of the Feasibility of the Intervention

  The investigators will capture parent perceptions of feasibility of the entire intervention in the Post-Intervention Parent Interview. The quantitative and qualitative data related to this primary mixed methods outcome (Feasibility of the Intervention) will be integrated together at the data analysis phase.

  Post-Intervention (12 weeks)

• Adolescent Perceptions of the Feasibility of the Each Intervention Component

  The investigators will capture adolescent perceptions of feasibility of the entire intervention in the Reflection Entries. The quantitative and qualitative data related to this primary mixed methods outcome (Feasibility of the Intervention) will be integrated together at the data analysis phase.

  Throughout the participant's intervention period (0 to 12 weeks)

• Parent Perceptions of the Feasibility of the Each Intervention Component

  The investigators will capture parent perceptions of feasibility of the entire intervention in the Reflection Entries. The quantitative and qualitative data related to this primary mixed methods outcome (Feasibility of the Intervention) will be integrated together at the data analysis phase.

  Throughout the participant's intervention period (0 to 12 weeks)

Secondary Outcomes (20)

• Study Interest Rate

  10 months after baseline

• Study Recruitment Rate

  10 months after baseline

• Study Completion Rate

  10 months after baseline

• Proportion of Missing Data

  10 months after baseline

• Average Duration of Time to Complete Data Collection Measures

  10 months after baseline

Study Arms (1)

All adolescents and parents who meet the eligibility criteria

EXPERIMENTAL

The adolescents and parents will be invited to participate in a 5-component intervention that will hopefully empower and prepare the pair for the transition to adult care.

Behavioral: Transition Intervention

Interventions

Transition Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Each adolescent-parent pair will be invited to complete 5 components of the intervention (peer support session, parent education session, transition meeting with healthcare providers, family doctor contact, and reading a transition navigation guide) over a 3-month period. These intervention components were designed with the intention of making the transition process transparent for the duo, preparing the adolescent to take responsibility of their own health as it relates to their disorder, and helping the parent step back from the process to help the adolescent integrate to adult care better.

All adolescents and parents who meet the eligibility criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 17 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• months away from 18th birthday
• Be currently diagnosed with an ED
• Enrolled at McMaster Children's Hospital's Pediatric Eating Disorder Program
• Be in the process of preparing for a healthcare transition to local adult ED services based on pediatric healthcare providers' recommendation
• Must be the parent of an adolescent who meets the criteria above
• English-speaking
• Access to a working computer with a functioning microphone and regular internet connection

Sponsors & Collaborators

• McMaster University: lead

Study Sites (1)

McMaster Children's Hospital

Hamilton, Ontario, L8N 3Z5, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Nicula M, Kimber M, Boylan K, Grant C, Laliberte M, Miller K, Dimitropoulos G, Trollope K, Webb C, Couturier J. Assessing the feasibility of an intervention for adolescents and parents transitioning out of paediatric eating disorder services: A mixed methods study. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2025 Nov;33(6):1144-1161. doi: 10.1002/erv.3027. Epub 2023 Aug 26.

  PMID: 37632341 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding and Eating Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Single Group Assignment

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2021
• First Posted: May 17, 2021
• Study Start: May 15, 2021
• Primary Completion: May 30, 2022
• Study Completion: May 30, 2022
• Last Updated: September 7, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)