Clinical trial NCT01927042: Effectiveness of the ECHOs Approach for Patients With Eating Disorders and Their Carers
Official title: Effectiveness of the Expert Carers Helping Others (ECHOs) Approach for Patients With Eating Disorders and Their Carers
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Eating Disorders
Keywords: Eating Disorders
Carers
Lead sponsor: Nova Scotia Health Authority
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2013-08-22
Enrollment: 58
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 17
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Family therapy is considered an empirically supported treatment approach for adolescents and adults with eating disorders. One family based approach, Expert Carers Helping Others (ECHO) is based on evidence that suggests family environment, e.g., carer criticism, can influence an individual's eating disorder symptoms. ECHO aims to improve carer coping, reduce expressed emotion and manage eating disorder symptoms, and has been associated with reduced carer distress, caregiver burden, and an increase in general well being. The current pilot study seeks to evaluate a new condensed version of the ECHO intervention that is delivered entirely in a 2 ½ hour self-help DVD format (ECHOs). Sixty patients and their carers will be recruited from the Capital Health Eating Disorders Service and randomized into either a treatment as usual group (TAU) or a TAU+ECHOs group. Both carers and patients will be assessed along a variety of dimensions including psychiatric symptoms, family functioning, and carer and patient collaboration, at pre-intervention, four weeks later at post-intervention, and then three-months post-intervention. ANOVAs will be used to compare the primary outcomes between the two groups over time. This pilot study will be the first evaluation of ECHOs, which may ultimately boost the efficacy of current treatment for adults with eating disorders and reduce carer distress.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with an ED (AN, BN, EDNOS) according to DSM-V criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) as determined by standard clinical interview completed by team psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.
* Patients age of \>17y.o.
* Carers can include parents/partners/siblings/extended family who provide unpaid help and support. Peers and roommates could also be included in circumstances within which they play a significant role in the person's life and meet the following criteria:
* Live with or have regular, current contact with the patient (at least 7 hours/week) throughout the duration of the trial (approximately 6months).
* Interact with the patient in some meaningful manner regarding their ED (e.g. provide support, eat meals together, discussions about behaviours).
* Consent from patient and at least one carer

Exclusion Criteria:

* ED comorbid with severe psychiatric or physical comorbidity: e.g. current psychotic illness (inc. bipolar disorder), severe alcohol/drug abuse, significant metabolic or gastrointestinal problems (i.e. treatment interfering) as determined by standard clinical interview completed by team psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.
* Family in a concurrent treatment trial.
* Either patient or carer has insufficient knowledge of English.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Changes in Carer and Patient Collaboration Scale (CPCS).
timeFrame: baseline, 4-weeks post-intervention, 3 months follow-up
measure: Changes in Short Evaluation of Eating Disorders (SEED)
timeFrame: baseline, 4-weeks post-intervention, 3 months follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Depression, Stress and Anxiety Scale (DASS-21)
timeFrame: baseline, 4-weeks post-intervention, 3 months follow-up
measure: The Family Questionnaire (FQ)
timeFrame: baseline, 4-weeks post-intervention, 3 months follow-up
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Halifax
country: Canada
facility: Capital Health District Health Authority
state: Nova Scotia
Study officials:
References: