OBJECTIVE: An important question in implementation/dissemination research is whether the efficacy of a given treatment varies in part based on the therapist delivering the treatment. This study sought to provide practical guidance to researchers in the field of eating disorders for building measurement of therapist effects into the design of a typical, relatively small randomized controlled trial (RCT). METHOD: Using assumptions based on past trials of eating disorder treatments, Monte Carlo simulations were used to examine 12 different scenarios based on crossing the number of therapists (between two and five) and the estimated therapist effect size (small, medium, and large). Patient sample size and study design were held constant. RESULTS: There was reasonable power (≥70%) to detect the therapist effect with three or four therapists and a large effect size. DISCUSSION: Several practical implications for testing therapist effects in RCT are discussed.
OBJECTIVE: An important question in implementation/dissemination research is whether the efficacy of a given treatment varies in part based on the therapist delivering the treatment. This study sought to provide practical guidance to researchers in the field of eating disorders for building measurement of therapist effects into the design of a typical, relatively small randomized controlled trial (RCT). METHOD: Using assumptions based on past trials of eating disorder treatments, Monte Carlo simulations were used to examine 12 different scenarios based on crossing the number of therapists (between two and five) and the estimated therapist effect size (small, medium, and large). Patient sample size and study design were held constant. RESULTS: There was reasonable power (≥70%) to detect the therapist effect with three or four therapists and a large effect size. DISCUSSION: Several practical implications for testing therapist effects in RCT are discussed.
Authors: Debra L Franko; Heather Thompson-Brenner; Douglas R Thompson; Christina L Boisseau; Angela Davis; Kelsie T Forbush; James P Roehrig; Susan W Bryson; Cynthia M Bulik; Scott J Crow; Michael J Devlin; Amy A Gorin; Carlos M Grilo; Jean L Kristeller; Robin M Masheb; James E Mitchell; Carol B Peterson; Debra L Safer; Ruth H Striegel; Denise E Wilfley; G Terence Wilson Journal: J Consult Clin Psychol Date: 2011-12-26
Authors: B T Walsh; G T Wilson; K L Loeb; M J Devlin; K M Pike; S P Roose; J Fleiss; C Waternaux Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 1997-04 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Ursula Bailer; Martina de Zwaan; Friedrich Leisch; Alexandra Strnad; Claudia Lennkh-Wolfsberg; Nadia El-Giamal; Kurt Hornik; Siegfried Kasper Journal: Int J Eat Disord Date: 2004-05 Impact factor: 4.861
Authors: Jacqueline C Carter; Marion P Olmsted; Allan S Kaplan; Randi E McCabe; Jennifer S Mills; Annie Aimé Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2003-05 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Denise E Wilfley; R Robinson Welch; Richard I Stein; Emily Borman Spurrell; Lisa R Cohen; Brian E Saelens; Jennifer Zoler Dounchis; Mary Ann Frank; Claire V Wiseman; Georg E Matt Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2002-08
Authors: Gina Dimitropoulos; James D Lock; William Stewart Agras; Harry Brandt; Katherine A Halmi; Booil Jo; Walter H Kaye; Leora Pinhas; Denise E Wilfley; D Blake Woodside Journal: Eur Eat Disord Rev Date: 2019-07-11