Intensive Outpatient Program for Eating Disorders: A Qualitative Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Eating Disorder Intensive Outpatient Programmes (IOPs) Stakeholders’ Perspectives from Across England: A Qualitative Study
IRAS ID
366855
Contact name
Erica Cini
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Background: Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) for eating disorders (EDs) are becoming more common across the ED treatment pathway. They allow more intensive support within a community setting and align with government policies, which recommended bringing care closer to home. A report from Beat Eating Disorder Charity showed that only 15% NHS services currently offer IOPs, with wide differences in the service model. To our knowledge, there are no qualitative studies which have explored the experiences of children and young people, parents/carers, and clinicians of this service model.
Aim: This study aims to explore patients’, parents’/carers’, and clinicians’ perspectives of IOP to increase our understanding of how the current offering meets service users’ needs.
Methods: Participants will include children and young people aged 13-17 years, parents/carers, and clinicians with experience of IOP services. For children and young people as well as their parents/carers, a minimum of two weeks will need to have passed since completing their time in an IOP before taking part. Participants will take part in a one-to-one semi-structured interview via MS Teams to discuss their experiences, the benefits and limitations of the IOP, the support they received, the involvement of professionals in the service, and their suggestions for improvement. The interview will be online and will last around 60 minutes. The interview will be recorded, transcribed word for word, reviewed for accuracy, and identifiable personal data removed to ensure confidentiality. The recordings will be securely deleted after transcription. The interviews will be analysed to identify the main themes and subthemes. This study will take place entirely online. This research is being primarily funded by King's College London, which is a research site alongside SLaM, and is anticipated to last until 2029.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/WM/0053
Date of REC Opinion
24 Mar 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion