Project 467006

Technology-based interventions (TBIs) may be useful for increasing treatment options for eating disorders (EDs) among youth, who frequently use technologies and who are particularly affected by these mental illnesses. Canadian guidelines recommend certain TBIs for treating EDs in youth. However, the extent to which TBIs have been implemented and integrated into multidisciplinary treatment in Canada is unknown. The objective of this study is to characterize current practices of clinicians treating EDs in youth across Canada with a focus on TBIs, challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent adaptations in care paradigms. We hypothesize that clinicians identified new organizational strategies to accommodate the surge in ED cases among youth and the requirement of providing care at a distance during the pandemic. We expect that most youth ED treatment programs integrated videoconference-delivered therapy and that many have used it to provide multidisciplinary care. We are proposing a mixed-methods cross-sectional study in which healthcare providers currently working at youth ED clinics across Canada will be invited to respond to a quantitative online questionnaire and a qualitative semi-structured interview pertaining to their experience of providing care prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect approximately 20-30 questionnaire respondents and 10-15 interview respondents. Descriptive statistics and thematic and content analysis will be used to report results. Findings will inform physicians of current practices across Canada and may help orient future care goals. It will provide insight on how adaptations made during the pandemic can improve ED treatment and which adaptations should be retained in the future.