Participation criteria

Families of children and adolescents with AN of the restrictive and binge-purge subtypes, aged 8 to 17 years, who require and fulfil the S3 guideline criteria for inpatient treatment are eligible to participate. It is also a necessary condition that the patient is a member of a public health insurance company, a stable internet connection is available for telemedical treatment and the family is willing to visit a nearby study centre for medical examinations. Before participation, both legal guardians (or the legal representative in the case of sole custody) and the participant must provide written consent.

 

Patients who are very severely underweight, i.e., are significantly below the 1st body mass index (BMI) percentile and below 67% of the median BMI, are excluded. Patients with psychotic and bipolar disorders, heavy substance use (e.g. alcohol, cannabis) and families with current child protection issues or domestic violence/abuse are also not eligible to participate.

 

 

 

Possible withdrawal from the study

As participation in the FIAT study is voluntary, families may withdraw their consent at any time. For families in the FBTSCM group, withdrawal means stopping treatment with FBT, although outpatient or inpatient treatment remains available after withdrawal. If the patient is already receiving standard inpatient care, this treatment will continue at the discretion of the clinic Participation can also be terminated by the study team, for example if the study requirements are not met (e.g. use of inpatient stabilisation, completion of questionnaires, participation in examination appointments) or if the participant meets any exclusion criteria at a later date (e.g. discovery of child protection issues or substance abuse).