The hybrid space in eating disorder treatment: towards a personalized approach to integrating telehealth and in-person care

Abstract

Abstract The combination of in-person and telehealth treatment for individuals with eating disorders is becoming an important clinical and research avenue. Despite this, a framework for describing such care, which is coming to be known as hybrid treatment, is lacking. We propose a definition for “the hybrid space” and a conceptual model that delineates the characteristics of hybrid interventions, using a person-centered approach. These characteristics include sociodemographic characteristics and social determinants of health; factors determining use; clinical characteristics; treatment context, participants, and services provided; treatment modality; and the proportion of in-person to telehealth care. Such a model may be helpful in steering development in this nascent field as it provides a framework that clinicians can flexibly adapt to their specific contexts and that researchers can investigate more rigorously. This model may contribute to the improvement of eating disorder treatment as hybrid interventions have the potential to exploit the best of both in-person and telehealth care while offering the possibility for personalizing and tailoring treatment to individuals. Ultimately, we hope that this framework will be a useful clinical tool which can lead to the development of guidelines for clinical practice.

Keywords

• Feeding and eating disorder
• Telemedicine
• Health services research
• Treatment protocol
• Innovative therapies