BE-GUIDED Study: Evaluating a digital guided self-help programme for binge eating

Background
Binge Eating Disorder is a common mental health problem which can last a long time. It has a major impact on people’s psychological and physical health and their quality of life. It affects around 3% of the population: that is about 1.4 million people in England.

A treatment called "guided self-help" (GSH) is recommended as the first step in the treatment of Binge Eating Disorder. It involves the person concerned following a self-help programme with support from a non-specialist worker whose role is to help the person follow the programme. Usually, the self-help programme is presented in printed form, often as a book.

The Centre for Research on Eating Disorders at Oxford (CREDO) had developed a new digital programme. This can be used on a smartphone or computer. It is based closely on the leading face-to-face psychological treatment (also developed by our research group). A digital programme has a major advantage over a one-size-fits-all book, as it can be programmed to be interactive and provide advice adjusted to user concerns. Like conventional guided self-help, it will be accompanied by outside support. The support will be delivered over the telephone rather than face-to-face. This will avoid users having to make repeated visits to a clinic. This research will investigate this new digital approach.

Digitalising treatment for Binge Eating Disorder is likely to improve its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and it may also make it easier to access. If true, this will reduce the suffering of people with binge eating disorder.

Goals
What is needed is a large study to test the effects of this new digital programme. This will involve people with Binge Eating Disorder receiving either digital GSH or being assigned to a waiting list (decided ‘by chance’). The waiting list will provide a benchmark against which we can measure the effects of the treatment.

Before undertaking such a large study, a preliminary “feasibility study” is needed to check whether the large study is likely to work and how best to do it. A feasibility study is a piece of research carried out before a main study to answer the question "Can this study be done?”. Individuals with Binge Eating Disorder have been involved in planning this study.

Plan
A feasibility study will be carried out to provide information on:

• how best to recruit people;
• how best to measure if treatment has worked;
• how much people use the treatment;
• whether people are happy to remain in the study and complete the necessary questionnaires;
• how to involve patients and the public in the large research study.

Some of those participating in this feasibility study will be interviewed to understand what it is like taking part.

A new digital programme developed by CREDO.