Background Family-based treatment (FBT) is an efficacious outpatient intervention for young people diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). To date, treatment to protocol has relied on standard face-to-face delivery. Face-to-face therapy is subject to geographic, temporal and human factors, rendering it particularly susceptible to inequities and disruption. This has resulted in poorer service provision for rural and regional families, and recently a significant challenge to providing face-to-face services during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The present study examines whether FBT for AN can be successfully translated to a digital delivery platform to address these access issues. Method Forty young people aged 12 to 18 years who meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for AN, and live in a rural or regional setting, will along with their family be recruited to the study. Trained therapists will provide 18 sessions of FBT over 9 months via telemedicine to the home of the young person and their family. The analysis will examine treatment effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness. Discussion The study addresses the treatment needs of families not able to attend face-to-face clinical services for evidence-based treatment for eating disorders. This might be due to several barriers, including a lack of local services or long travel distances to services. There has been a recent and unprecedented demand for telemedicine to facilitate the continuity of care during COVID-19 despite geographical circumstances. If delivering treatment in this modality is clinically and economically effective and feasible, it will facilitate access to potentially lifesaving, evidence-based treatments for families formerly unable to access such care and provide evidence for the continuity of services when and where face-to-face treatment is not feasible.

中文翻译：

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将循证治疗转化为数字医疗服务：使用远程医疗进行神经性厌食症家庭治疗方案

背景 对于诊断为神经性厌食症 (AN) 的年轻人来说，家庭治疗 (FBT) 是一种有效的门诊干预措施。迄今为止，治疗方案一直依赖于标准的面对面治疗。面对面治疗受到地理、时间和人为因素的影响，使其特别容易受到不平等和破坏的影响。这导致为农村和地区家庭提供的服务质量较差，并且最近在 COVID-19 全球大流行期间提供面对面服务面临重大挑战。本研究探讨了 AN 的 FBT 是否可以成功转化为数字交付平台以解决这些访问问题。方法 将招募 40 名 12 至 18 岁、符合 DSM-5 AN 诊断标准、居住在农村或地区的年轻人及其家人参加这项研究。训练有素的治疗师将在 9 个月内通过远程医疗为年轻人及其家人提供 18 次 FBT 课程。该分析将检查治疗效果、可行性、可接受性和成本效益。讨论 该研究解决了无法参加面对面临床服务的家庭的治疗需求，以进行饮食失调的循证治疗。这可能是由于多种障碍造成的，包括缺乏本地服务或到达服务的距离较长。最近，人们对远程医疗产生了前所未有的需求，以促进在新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 期间保持护理的连续性，无论地理位置如何。如果以这种方式提供治疗在临床和经济上有效且可行，它将有助于以前无法获得此类护理的家庭获得可能挽救生命的循证治疗，并为面对面服务的连续性提供证据治疗是不可行的。