Disseminating Education and Treatment for Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders Across Levels of Care.

BACKGROUND: Eating disorders (EDs) are psychiatric illnesses with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Healthcare providers often receive inadequate training in evidence-based ED assessment and treatment. DESIGN: Project CORE (Creating Opportunities for Rhode Island Eating Disorders Professionals) was developed to disseminate ED training/education and treatment approaches to the healthcare workforce. An interdisciplinary research team partners with pediatric healthcare professionals/trainees and supports them to better understand how to diagnose, manage, and collaborate across disciplines in the care of patients with EDs. METHODS: Phase I involves a needs assessment of pediatric healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes and needs in treating EDs. Phase II involves the development of training/education approaches, and therapeutic interventions for patients with EDs. In Phase III approaches/interventions are further developed and disseminated across RI. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: Project CORE's goals will address barriers to effective ED treatment in RI and broaden the workforce of interdisciplinary providers trained to recognize and treat patients with EDs across multiple healthcare settings.

PARTIAL HOSPITALIZATION: AN INTERVENTION FOR YOUTH WITH POORLY CONTROLLED DIABETES MELLITUS.

Objective: To examine the efficacy of an integrated medical/psychiatric partial hospitalization program (PHP) to improve glycemic control in youth with both diabetes mellitus and mental health disorders. Methods: This retrospective chart review is of patients admitted to a PHP between 2005-2015 with concerns about diabetes mellitus care. Clinical characteristics, laboratory data, diabetic ketoacidosis hospitalizations, and outpatient clinic visit frequency were collected from the year prior to the year after PHP admission. Results: A total of 43 individuals met inclusion criteria: 22 (51%) were female, 40 (93%) had type 1 diabetes, the mean age was 15.2 ± 2.3 years, and the mean diabetes mellitus duration was 4.6 ± 3.6 years. Of those individuals, 35 of these patients had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) data available at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year after PHP. The average HbA1c before PHP admission was 11.3 ± 2.3% (100.5 ± 25 mmol/mol), and decreased to 9.2 ± 1.3% (76.7 ± 14.8 mmol/mol) within 6 months of PHP admission (P<.001). The average HbA1c 1 year after PHP was 10.7 ± 1.7 % (93.3 ± 19.1 mmol/mol). Overall, 24 patients (68%) had lower HbA1c, and 75% of those with improvement maintained an HbA1c reduction of ≥1% (≥10 mmol/mol) at 1 year compared to before PHP. Conclusion: Most patients demonstrated improved glycemic control within 6 months of PHP admission, and many of those maintained a ≥1% (≥10 mmol/mol) reduction in HbA1c at 1 year following PHP admission. This program may represent a promising intervention that could serve as a model for intensive outpatient management of youth with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Abbreviations: ADA = American Diabetes Association; DKA = diabetic ketoacidosis; EMR = electronic medical record; HbA1c = hemoglobin A1c; ICD-9 = International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision; PHP = partial hospitalization program.

Integrated, Family-based, Partial Hospital Treatment for Complex Pediatric Illness.

This paper describes a unique treatment program for complex pediatric illness. The Hasbro Children's Partial Hospital Program uses a family systems orientation, integrated care, and a partial hospital setting to treat children with a wide range of pediatric illnesses that have failed outpatient and inpatient treatments. We have treated more than 2000 children with at least 80 different ICD-9 diagnoses. The multidisciplinary treatment team functions as a meta-family for children and their families who present with illness and family beliefs that impede successful outcomes with standard care. The three features: family systems orientation, integrated care, and partial hospital setting, hopefully interact to create an environment that helps families expand and modify their explanatory models regarding participating in effective medical care. The goal of treatment is for both children and their parents to feel empowered to take control of the illness. Parents completing standardized measures at intake describe their children and families as experiencing significant emotional distress, low levels of general family functioning, and poor quality of life. Although the children are described as having distinct behavioral differences, the families are described as responding to the experience of a seriously ill child in similar ways. A treatment program that addresses the noncategorical aspects of how families respond to illness while addressing the specific diseases of the children can allow children and their families to respond favorably to treatment.

En este artículo se describe un programa de tratamiento único para las enfermedades pediátricas complejas. El programa hospitalario parcial de Hasbro Children's Hospital utiliza una orientación de sistemas familiares, atención integrada y un formato de hospital parcial para tratar a niños con una amplia variedad de enfermedades pediátricas a quienes los tratamientos ambulatorios y con internación no les han dado resultado. Hemos tratado a más de 2000 niños con, por lo menos, 80 diagnósticos diferentes de ICD-9. El equipo de tratamiento multidiscplinario funciona como una metafamilia para los niños y sus familiares que presentan una enfermedad y creencias familiares que impiden resultados favorables con la atención convencional. Las tres características: orientación de sistemas familiares, atención integrada y formato de hospital parcial interactuarían para crear un entorno que ayude a las familias a ampliar y modificar sus modelos explicativos con respecto a participar en una atención médica eficaz. El objetivo del tratamiento es que tanto los niños como sus padres se sientan facultados para tomar las riendas de la enfermedad. Los padres que se someten a evaluaciones estandarizadas en el ingreso explican que sus hijos y familias sufren distrés emocional considerable, niveles bajos de funcionamiento familiar general y una mala calidad de vida. Si bien se describe a los niños como personas con diferencias conductuales definidas, las familias se describen como personas que responden a la experiencia de un niño gravemente enfermo de formas similares. Un programa de tratamiento que aborde los aspectos no categóricos de las formas en las que las familias responden a la enfermedad y que, al mismo tiempo, aborde las enfermedades específicas de los niños puede permitir a los niños y a sus familias responder favorablemente al tratamiento.

Medical Considerations in Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders.

Eating disorders are a group of psychiatric disorders with potentially fatal medical complications. Early integrated care including the family as well as pediatric medicine, nutrition, psychology and psychiatry is critical for improving prognosis and limiting negative outcomes. Mental health services are a critical component of treatment; timely weight restoration maximizes efficacy. Despite being relatively common, there are many misperceptions about eating disorders, their severity, and the associated morbidity and mortality. Opportunities exist within the medical and psychiatric communities for a better understanding of the complexity of diagnosing and treating patients with eating disorders.

Family-Based Integrated Care (FBIC) in a Partial Hospital Program for Complex Pediatric Illness: Fostering Shifts in Family Illness Beliefs and Relationships.

The heuristic model of family-based integrated care (FBIC) was developed from 1998 to 2016 in the context of the development of the Hasbro Children's Partial Hospital Program (HCPHP) along with the development of a family therapy training program for Brown University child psychiatry and triple board residents. The clinical experience of the HCPHP team in treating more than 2000 patients and families in combination with the authors' experience in training residents for diverse practice settings highlights the usefulness of the FBIC paradigm for interdisciplinary family-based treatment for a broad range of illnesses and levels of care.