Carer Skills Training for Inpatients With Anorexia Nervosa (iCASK)

Bridging Transitions From Hospital to Home: Collaborative Skill Sharing Intervention With Carers (iCASK)

To improve treatment for patients with severe anorexia nervosa admitted for inpatient care, and to help their families. Inpatients and their families will be offered a novel intervention which includes multimedia training materials. These materials provide guidance in how families can provide support to maintain and build on changes made during inpatient care

Problem to be solved: Hospital Episode Statistics reveal that admissions for anorexia nervosa are increasing [1]. Admission restores nutrition in a timely manner [2], but psychosocial problems remain and relapse following discharge is common [3]. The mortality post discharge is high [4]. We have found that relapse and bed use post discharge are reduced by a parenting intervention giving the family skills to manage eating disorder behaviours [5].

Innovation: Through a process of co-production, in collaboration with service users and their families, we have developed tools exemplifying emotional coaching behaviour change strategies for patients and their carers (texts, DVDs and podcasts; iCASK programme). These aim of these tools is to improve the transition to outpatient care. These are hosted on a user-friendly, confidential and NHS-compliant platform.

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 17 or over
• DSM-5 diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa with a body mass index (BMI) of < 18.5 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

• Insufficient knowledge of English
• Severe mental or physical illness needing treatment in its own right (e.g. psychosis or diabetes mellitus)