Factors that facilitate and impede eating disorder transitions
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploration of factors that facilitate and impede transition from CAMHS to Adult Eating Disorders Services from the perspectives of young people, parents and professionals.
IRAS ID
246433
Contact name
Jackie Wales
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 27 days
Research summary
When a young person reaches the age of 18 years, the responsibility of care transfers from child to adult service providers, this is called 'transition'. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend this should include person-centred planning and support throughout and that young people and carers should be involved in the co-production of transition policies and strategies.
Transition is important as most adult mental illnesses begin in adolescence. For anorexia nervosa incidence rates are highest amongst females aged 15–19 years.
We wish to improve the process of transitioning from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult services for eating disorders. We have already commenced this improvement; as part of a service evaluation we interviewed clinicians, patients and carers/parents involved in the transition from CAMHS to adult eating disorders services. This generated much qualitative information that those involved identified as being important in facilitating or impeding the transition process.
The service evaluation conducted involved two specialist eating disorder services (CAMHS and Adult) in one area. We wish to ensure that the research is generalizable across the country, and between all types of services, by examining the factors generated in the qualitative stage with a larger sample of people.
Q methodology is a quantitative method for analysing qualitative data. This will be used to further sort the information gained in the clinician, patient and carer interviews about the transition process to determine what is important to them and how the transition process can be improved. Q methodology will be used by patients, carers and clinicians with experience of eating disorder transitions. This will examine our qualitative data more robustly to indicate what factors are most important to transition and enable informed service planning.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/HRA/3253
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion