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

Eating disorders (EDs) are severe psychiatric illnesses that negatively impact the health and quality of life of sufferers and their families. EDs typically begin in adolescence and often progress into adulthood, often requiring youth to transition from pediatric to adult mental health services. However, patients often experience a discontinuity in care due to a lack of coordinated transition between services, which has a significant impact on their health. Although barriers to a smooth transition and solutions to mend the gap have been identified in the literature, there is no stakeholder-informed protocol in Canada to address this issue. The aim of this project is to develop and test a protocol to support the health services transition from pediatric to adult treatment for adolescents with EDs and their families. The investigators have prepared a protocol aimed at improving this transition experience using suggestions from the existing literature. The investigators will also invite stakeholders to offer recommendations for its local use. The proposed suite of interventions will be tested in a sample of adolescents who are in treatment at a pediatric ED program based in Hamilton, Ontario during their transition to adult services, along with their parents. The investigators will report upon enrolment and retention rates into adult programs, feasibility indicators of the intervention and research procedures, self-reported readiness to transition, post-transition qualitative interviews with adolescents and parents regarding their experience, and written reflections by all participants regarding each intervention component. The eligibility criteria and outcome measures will be elaborated upon below. If this study is successful, the investigators will test the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of this protocol across pediatric ED programs in Ontario, and eventually Canada. This innovative protocol has the potential to improve health outcomes for this population, to decrease long-term disability costs associated with EDs, and to improve the quality and success of the mental health service delivery that directly influences the quality of life of Canadian youth and families affected by EDs.