Karina L Allen1,2,3, Victoria Mountford1,2,4, Amy Brown5, Katie Richards2, Nina Grant1, Amelia Austin2, Danielle Glennon1, Ulrike Schmidt1,2. 1. Eating Disorder Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Maudsley Hospital, London, UK. 2. Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. 3. School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 4. Maudsley Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 5. Sussex Eating Disorder Service, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK.
Abstract
AIMS: Eating disorders are serious psychiatric disorders with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Early intervention can improve treatment outcomes and reduce disruption to psychosocial development. However, early intervention is not well established in the eating disorder field. First episode rapid early intervention for eating disorders (FREED) was developed to address barriers to early, effective eating disorder treatment in emerging adults aged 16 to 25 years. Since 2014, FREED has progressed from a single-site research project to an evidence-based care approach in nine eating disorder services. This paper aims to summarize key learning from the scaling of FREED to date, with attention to how this learning may generalizes to other models of care. METHODS: We describe the development, scaling and implementation of FREED with reference to the RE-AIM (reach; effectiveness/efficacy; adoption; implementation; maintenance) framework. We also summarize challenges and learning in each of the RE-AIM domains. RESULTS: FREED has demonstrated real-world validity across diverse clinical contexts, geographical regions and populations. Key outcomes are seen for each of the RE-AIM domains. CONCLUSIONS: FREED provides an example of effective, non-commercial scaling of an early intervention eating disorder care pathway. This work is likely to be particularly relevant to others looking to scale-up early intervention models and for those working in secondary and tertiary mental health settings.
AIMS: Eating disorders are serious psychiatric disorders with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Early intervention can improve treatment outcomes and reduce disruption to psychosocial development. However, early intervention is not well established in the eating disorder field. First episode rapid early intervention for eating disorders (FREED) was developed to address barriers to early, effective eating disorder treatment in emerging adults aged 16 to 25 years. Since 2014, FREED has progressed from a single-site research project to an evidence-based care approach in nine eating disorder services. This paper aims to summarize key learning from the scaling of FREED to date, with attention to how this learning may generalizes to other models of care. METHODS: We describe the development, scaling and implementation of FREED with reference to the RE-AIM (reach; effectiveness/efficacy; adoption; implementation; maintenance) framework. We also summarize challenges and learning in each of the RE-AIM domains. RESULTS: FREED has demonstrated real-world validity across diverse clinical contexts, geographical regions and populations. Key outcomes are seen for each of the RE-AIM domains. CONCLUSIONS: FREED provides an example of effective, non-commercial scaling of an early intervention eating disorder care pathway. This work is likely to be particularly relevant to others looking to scale-up early intervention models and for those working in secondary and tertiary mental health settings.