Optimizing Digital Health Technology Interventions to Increase Skill Acquisition and Utilization

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Bulimia Nervosa; Bulimia; Binge-Eating Disorder; Binge Eating
• Interventions: Behavioral: Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders; Behavioral: Automated Reminder Messages; Behavioral: Skills Monitoring On; Behavioral: JITAIs

• Registration Number: NCT05473013
• Lead Sponsor: Drexel University

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to identify the independent and combined effects of two types of self-monitoring and two types of micro-interventions when combined with standard cognitive behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). The primary aims of this study are (1) to evaluate the optimal complexity of Self-Monitoring and Micro-Interventions on eating pathology (at post-treatment and at 6 and 12-month follow-ups and (2) to test the hypotheses that the optimal complexity level of each component is moderated by baseline deficits in self-regulation. The secondary aim will be to test target engagement for each level of complexity for each component, i.e., to test whether higher complexity of each technological components is associated with better rates of therapeutic skill use and acquisition and that improvements in skill use and acquisition are associated with improvements in outcomes. A final exploratory aim will be to quantify the component interaction effects, which may be partially additive (because components overlap and/or there is diminishing return), fully additive, or synergistic (in that component complexities may partially depend on each other).

Detailed Description

The current study will use a 2 x 3 full factorial design in which 264 individuals with BN or BED are assigned to one of six treatment conditions, i.e., representing each permutation of self-monitoring complexity (Skills-Monitoring On vs. Skills-Monitoring Off) and micro-intervention complexity (No Micro-Interventions vs. Automated Reminder Messages vs. JITAIs) as an augmentation to CBT. All participants will be given the gold-standard treatment for eating disorders known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E) which is the most evidence-based treatment to date for eating disorders and is a well-established treatment approach. The main innovation of the new proposed study is the evaluation of the efficacy of the six intervention conditions that arise as a result of testing each possible combination of self-monitoring complexity (Skills-Monitoring On vs. Skills-Monitoring Off) and micro-intervention complexity (No Micro-Interventions vs. Automated Reminder Messages vs. JITAIs) as an augmentation to CBT.

The purpose of this study is to identify the independent and combined effects of two types of self-monitoring and two types of micro-interventions when combined with standard cognitive behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). The primary aims of this study are (1) to evaluate the optimal complexity of Self-Monitoring and Micro-Interventions on eating pathology (at post-treatment and at 6 and 12-month follow-ups and (2) to test the hypotheses that the optimal complexity level of each component is moderated by baseline deficits in self-regulation. The secondary aim will be to test target engagement for each level of complexity for each component, i.e., to test whether higher complexity of each technological components is associated with better rates of therapeutic skill use and acquisition and that improvements in skill use and acquisition are associated with improvements in outcomes. A final exploratory aim will be to quantify the component interaction effects, which may be partially additive (because components overlap and/or there is diminishing return), fully additive, or synergistic (in that component complexities may partially depend on each other).

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-07-18
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-07-21
• Study First Posted: 2022-07-25
• Study Start: 2023-01-06
• Status Verified: 2023-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-09-21
• Last Update Posted: 2023-09-25
• Primary Completion: 2025-12
• Study Completion: 2026-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 264

Inclusion Criteria

1. Have experienced 12 or more loss of control episodes within the previous 3 months
2. Have a BMI at or above 18.5
3. Are located in the US and willing/able to participate in treatment and assessments
4. Are able to give consent

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Exclusion Criteria

1. Are unable to fluently speak, write and read English
2. Have a BMI below 18.5
3. Are already receiving treatment for an eating disorder
4. Require immediate treatment for medical complications as a result of eating disorder symptoms
5. Have a mental handicap, or are experiencing other severe psychopathology that would limit the participants' ability to comply with the demands of the current study (e.g. severe depression with suicidal intent, active psychotic disorder, severe substance use)
6. Are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Base BT + Skills Monitoring Off + Automated Reminder Messages	Automated Reminder Messages	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include traditional self-monitoring of participants' eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors via a smartphone application. It will also include participants receiving two randomly time automated push notifications from the application each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use.
Base BT (Skills Monitoring Off + No Micro-Interventions)	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include traditional self-monitoring of participants' eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors via a smartphone application.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + Automated Reminder Messages	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns).This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving two randomly time automated push notifications from the application each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + Automated Reminder Messages	Automated Reminder Messages	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns).This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving two randomly time automated push notifications from the application each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + JITAIs	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving push notifications each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use during app-identified moments of need (i.e., JITAIs, just-in-time adaptive interventions).
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + Automated Reminder Messages	Skills Monitoring On	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns).This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving two randomly time automated push notifications from the application each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + JITAIs	Skills Monitoring On	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving push notifications each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use during app-identified moments of need (i.e., JITAIs, just-in-time adaptive interventions).
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + JITAIs	JITAIs	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors. It will also include participants receiving push notifications each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use during app-identified moments of need (i.e., JITAIs, just-in-time adaptive interventions).
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + No Micro-Interventions	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring On + No Micro-Interventions	Skills Monitoring On	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include a more complex self-monitoring than the self-monitoring protocol with traditional behavioral treatment. Via a smartphone application, participants will be asked to self-monitor skill usage of the skills provided during treatment sessions on top of monitoring their eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring Off + Automated Reminder Messages	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include traditional self-monitoring of participants' eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors via a smartphone application. It will also include participants receiving two randomly time automated push notifications from the application each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use.
Base BT + Skills Monitoring Off + JITAIs	JITAIs	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include traditional self-monitoring of participants' eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors via a smartphone application. It will also include participants receiving push notifications each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use during app-identified moments of need (i.e., JITAIs, just-in-time adaptive interventions).
Base BT + Skills Monitoring Off + JITAIs	Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders	16 weekly sessions of standard behavioral therapy for eating disorders aimed at changing behaviors that maintain binge eating (e.g. rigid dietary restriction outside of binge episodes, irregular or chaotic eating patterns). This will include traditional self-monitoring of participants' eating patterns, binging, and (if applicable) compensatory behaviors via a smartphone application. It will also include participants receiving push notifications each week to remind them about skills they have learned in session to encourage skill use during app-identified moments of need (i.e., JITAIs, just-in-time adaptive interventions).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Binge eating frequency assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	Frequency (number of days and number of instances) of binge eating over the past 28 days assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination
Global Eating Pathology	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	The Eating Disorder Examination is a semi-structured interview that measures eating. pathology. The EDE yields a total eating pathology score that will be used as an outcome variable. Global eating pathology is on a 0-6 point scale with higher scores indicating more significant eating pathology.
Remission Status	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	Presence or absence of eating disorder diagnosis. Not in remission; in partial remission; or in full remission.
BMI	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	kilogram/(meters\^2), this will be calculated by assessors when participants provide their height and weight at all assessment points

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Compensatory behavior frequency assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	Frequency (number of days and number of instances) of compensatory behaviors assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination
Self-regulation: Impulsivity	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	Changes in impulsivity will be assessed by the total score of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviors Scale.
Acceptability and Feasibility	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment after baseline so 2 assessments over 16 weeks (the mid-treatment and post-treatment assessments).	Perceived usefulness and ease-of-use of the technological components (the smartphone application) will be measured by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Scales. A Feedback Questionnaire will also be used to measure qualitative acceptability of both the technological components of the study and the treatment components. Assessment of feasibility will include % of eligible patients enrolled, treatment attrition (% of patients that prematurely terminate treatment), and study retention (% of patients that complete all assessment points). Data will also be collected on participants' use of CBT+ technological features, including time, duration, and frequency of use.
Emotional Self-regulation	Changes from each assessment time point throughout treatment (3 assessments over 16 weeks) and at a 6 month and a 12-month post-treatment follow-up assessment	Changes in emotional self-regulation will be assessed using the total score of the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS)
Frequency of skill use and success of skill use	Changes from each weekly session over the course of the 16 week treatment	Data will be collected at each therapy session via a pre-session questionnaire for participants and post-session questionnaire for therapists to assess skills related to internal experiences such as urges and negative emotions that contribute to ED behaviors. The items were adapted from the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Drexel University, Stratton Hall; 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States