TY - JOUR
T1 - Treatment engagement in eating disorders: Who exits before treatment?
AU - Watson, Hunna
AU - Fursland, A.
AU - Byrne, Susan
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Objective Traditionally, drop-out has been investigated subsequent to treatment entry; yet some individuals "exit early," attending assessment but failing to commence the treatment offered. Early exit burdens administrative and clinical resources and means that individuals may not receive the care needed for recovery. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and characteristics associated with early exit at a statewide, outpatient eating disorder service. Method From a pool of 972 consecutive referrals of adults and youth (16+ years), two groups were formed; an "early exit" group of individuals who attended assessment but chose to exit the service prior to treatment entry and a "non-early exit" group that attended assessment and entered treatment. The groups were compared on sociodemographic, clinical, and administrative features. Results The prevalence of early exit was 18.7%. The early exit group exhibited less pathology compared with the non-early exit group; specifically, a lower presence of Axis I comorbidity (p =.04) and self-induced vomiting (p =.04). Discussion The findings, considered in the context of previous research, suggest that there are no measured features to date that are robustly associated with early exit from outpatient eating disorder services. Future research should investigate decision-making processes at assessment, to inform patient-centered approaches that optimize transition to treatment. © 2013 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013; 46:553-559) Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.
AB - Objective Traditionally, drop-out has been investigated subsequent to treatment entry; yet some individuals "exit early," attending assessment but failing to commence the treatment offered. Early exit burdens administrative and clinical resources and means that individuals may not receive the care needed for recovery. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and characteristics associated with early exit at a statewide, outpatient eating disorder service. Method From a pool of 972 consecutive referrals of adults and youth (16+ years), two groups were formed; an "early exit" group of individuals who attended assessment but chose to exit the service prior to treatment entry and a "non-early exit" group that attended assessment and entered treatment. The groups were compared on sociodemographic, clinical, and administrative features. Results The prevalence of early exit was 18.7%. The early exit group exhibited less pathology compared with the non-early exit group; specifically, a lower presence of Axis I comorbidity (p =.04) and self-induced vomiting (p =.04). Discussion The findings, considered in the context of previous research, suggest that there are no measured features to date that are robustly associated with early exit from outpatient eating disorder services. Future research should investigate decision-making processes at assessment, to inform patient-centered approaches that optimize transition to treatment. © 2013 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013; 46:553-559) Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.
U2 - 10.1002/eat.22085
DO - 10.1002/eat.22085
M3 - Article
C2 - 23436476
VL - 46
SP - 553
EP - 559
JO - International Journal of Eating Disorders
JF - International Journal of Eating Disorders
SN - 0276-3478
IS - 6
ER -