A Digital Treatment for Adolescents With Eating Disorders

NCT ID: NCT06306586

Last Updated: 2025-12-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-03-11

Study Completion Date

2027-01-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The goal of this feasibility study is to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary clinical outcomes of a personalized digital treatment for adolescents with eating disorders. The main objectives are to:

i) Evaluate whether a personalized digital treatment for adolescents with eating disorders are feasible in a child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinic.

ii) Evaluate who benefits from a personalized digital treatment for adolescents with eating disorders (what works for whom?) iii) Evaluate the cost-benefit of a personalized digital treatment for adolescents with eating disorders.

Participants will be enrolled in a 10-week digital treatment including weekly therapist contact. They will be asked to complete self-report questionnaires at pre-, during, post- and 3- and 6-months follow-up.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Eating disorders are associated with high levels of distress, significant somatic problems, and high mortality. The difficulties have significant consequences for the individual, family members, and society at large. Early treatment leads to better prognosis, but the identification and treatment of eating disorders are challenging within the healthcare system. The effect of digital treatments for patients with eating disorders appears promising.

In this study, we will investigate the feasibility and preliminary effects of therapist-guided digital treatment for youth with eating disorders using qualitative and quantitative methods. The project uses the Person-based approach (PBA) as methodological framework, which is an evidence-based method for developing user-centered and effective behavior change interventions.

The study wants the examine the intervention within six feasibility domains that includes the following research questions:

Feasibility domain 1. Sample distribution of general psychopathology of eating disorder symptoms:

A. Will a reasonable wide spectrum of individuals with different forms of eating disorders show interest and be eligible? B. Will 60 adolescents be eligible over the course of one year? C. What characterizes the group that participate (predictor)?

Feasibility domain 2. Adherence to the treatment protocol:

A. Do 50% of the adolescents complete the entire intervention? B, What characterizes those who carry out the treatment (predictor)? C. What characterizes those who drop out (predictor)?

Feasibility domain 3. Treatment credibility:

A. Will 70% of the participants rate the treatment as acceptable/recommend it to a friend?

Feasibility domain 4. Treatment acceptability:

A. What are the adolescents' experiences of a personalised digital treatment targeting eating disorders?

Feasibility domain 5. Treatment use and utility:

A. Will a moderate within-group effect, around d=0.50, be seen on general psychopathology of eating disorder? B. Will more than 40% of the sample obtain a significant reliable change on primary outcome? C. Will less than 10% of the sample experience negative effects and/or deterioration defined as a negative significant reliable change?

Feasibility domain 6. Treatment cost-effectiveness:

A. What is the cost-effectiveness of a personalized digital treatment for for adolescents with eating disorders in routine care?

Youth between the ages of 16-18 with an eating disorder will be invited to participate in this intervention study. The participants will be recruited via child and youth psychiatric outpatient clinics and social and media. Eligible participants get access to an online information consent form which is signed digitally using the Norwegian electronic identification system BankID.

Data will be collected using self-report questionnaires administrated online at pre-, during, post- and 3- and 6-months follow-up. All measures are previously validated and have been used in eating disorder adolescent populations. Based on the literature potential predictors are included in the study protocol. The pre-treatment symptoms variables are associated with external clinical features, which maintain an eating disorder. The predictor variables will be collected pre-treatment.

We will conduct semi-structured phone interviews to explore the patients' in-depth experience of the digital treatment. The interviews of approximately 16 adolescents will be conducted 2-4 weeks after finishing the treatment. We will strive to have two groups, one with participants that finished the treatment, and one with dropouts.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Eating Disorders

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

Digital interventions, eating disorders, adolescents

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Digital Treatment for Adolescents With Eating Disorders

The digital treatment is guided by a therapist and comprises 8 modules, running over a span of 10 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Digital Treatment for Adolescents With Eating Disorders

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The main aim of the digital treatment is to reduce symptoms of eating disorders and increase life-coping skills. The digital treatment aims to help adolescents with eating disorders to:

* Gain knowledge about the symptoms of eating disorders and the consequences it has on everyday life.
* Be motivated to carry out the treatment.
* Gain knowledge of and skills in regulating food and activity in a more balanced way.
* Gain knowledge of and skills in managing emotions.
* Get tools to develop a better self-esteem.
* Gain awareness of the function of the eating disorder.
* Gain skills in coping with social challenges.
* Get a more realistic image of their bodies and handle information from social media.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Digital Treatment for Adolescents With Eating Disorders

The main aim of the digital treatment is to reduce symptoms of eating disorders and increase life-coping skills. The digital treatment aims to help adolescents with eating disorders to:

* Gain knowledge about the symptoms of eating disorders and the consequences it has on everyday life.
* Be motivated to carry out the treatment.
* Gain knowledge of and skills in regulating food and activity in a more balanced way.
* Gain knowledge of and skills in managing emotions.
* Get tools to develop a better self-esteem.
* Gain awareness of the function of the eating disorder.
* Gain skills in coping with social challenges.
* Get a more realistic image of their bodies and handle information from social media.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

e-balanse

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

A. Diagnosed with F50.1 Atypical anorexia nervosa, F50.3 Atypical bulimia nervosa, F50.8 Other eating disorders, F50.9 Eating disorder, unspecified

B. Age between 15 and 18 years.

C. Stable dose of medication for a co-morbid psychiatric treatment for six weeks and who continue to meet study entry criteria.

D. Internet access.

E. Speaks and write Norwegian.

Exclusion Criteria

A. Diagnosed with F50.0 Anorexia nervosa or F50.2 Bulimia nervosa

B. Disorders of psychological development (F80-F89).

C. Patients with avoidant restrictive food intake disorders (F50.82)

D. Participants with a co-morbid medical condition or disorder known to influence eating or weight (i.e., pregnancy, cancer), psychotic disorders, acute suicidality, or substance abuse and/or substance dependence and severe depressive episode.

E. Receiving inpatient- or face to face psychological treatment.
Minimum Eligible Age

15 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Helse Fonna

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Haukeland University Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Tine Nordgreen, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Bømlo Kommune

Bømlo, Vestland, Norway

Site Status WITHDRAWN

Haukeland University Hospital

Bergen, , Norway

Site Status RECRUITING

Helse Fonna

Haugesund, , Norway

Site Status COMPLETED

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Norway

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Emilie Nordby, MA

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 55975000

Email: [email protected]

Guri Holgersen, MA

Role: CONTACT

Phone: 55975000

Email: [email protected]

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

639031

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id