Smart Technology for Anorexia Nervosa Recovery

Authors
Category Primary study
Registry of Trialsclinicaltrials.gov
Year 2023
Anorexia nervosa (AN) has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with a typical onset in adolescence. Although family-based interventions are efficacious for up to 75 percent of adolescents with AN, approximately 30 percent will relapse after recovery. There is a critical need to improve treatments and prevent post-discharge relapse following acute treatment to improve outcomes for adolescents with AN. To address this critical need, the investigators developed an adaptive smart-phone based therapy support tool for teens with AN, called Smart Treatment for Anorexia Recovery (STAR). STAR is for adolescents between the ages of 13-21 who recently received acute treatment for AN (e.g., inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient, or day hospital) who are currently working with an outpatient therapist. STAR incorporates elements from the Unified Protocol and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to target emotion avoidance, which the investigators hypothesize will lead to reductions in eating-disorder behaviors. The investigators will compare STAR to Present-focused Anorexia Nervosa Coping Treatment (PACT), which focuses on current life stressors and problems. The investigators\' hypothesis is that STAR will improve outpatient treatment response and reduce relapse in adolescents discharged from intensive treatment for AN. The investigators will evaluate their hypotheses in two conditions: 1) STAR app and 2) PACT app. In both conditions, participants must be working with an individual outpatient therapist.
Epistemonikos ID: 6c538affec2a6c82186e40110dd22aa46cf9fbcd
First added on: May 10, 2024