Completed Projects

FBT is the first-line treatment for youth with AN, yet less than 50% of treatment completers achieve full remission. The initial phase of FBT prioritizes renourishment of adolescents, with rapid weight gain a key prognostic marker of outcome. In FBT, caregivers are charged with making all decisions around nutrition and ensuring that their child completes all meals and snacks. Parents can, at times, struggle with adapting to their child’s new diet. Anecdotally, parents report that they need to shift the way in which they shop for and think about preparing food.

We modified and piloted a simulated grocery shopping tool, OSOG, to support parents to identify calorically dense foods. During this project, we engaged Parent Research Partners (PRPs) for initial feedback on the tool. We piloted this tool with parents of adolescents with AN hospitalized for medical stabilization. Qualitative feedback suggested that parents experience high levels of burden during the refeeding process and that this process is made more challenging by feelings of being overwhelmed and self-doubt. A majority of parents suggested that OSOG was helpful in applying nutritional learnings, providing confidence, and identifying new ideas for food preparation. However, participants noted a further need for support in understanding caloric density and a desire for greater integration with other aspects of information, education, and online shopping.

Makara A, Howe H, Cooper M, Heckert K, Weiss S, Kellom K, Scharf D, Ubel P, Orloff N, Timko CA. Modifying an Open Science Online Grocery for parents of youth with anorexia nervosa: A proof-of-concept study. Int J Eat Disord. 2023 May;56(5):1011-1020. doi: 10.1002/eat.23902.