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OBJECTIVES: E-mental health (digital) interventions can help overcome existing barriers that stand in the way of people receiving help for an eating disorder (ED). Although e-mental health interventions for treating and preventing EDs have been met with enthusiasm, earlier reviews brought attention to poor quality of evidence, and offered solutions to enhance their evidence base. To assess developments in the field, we conducted an updated meta-analysis on the efficacy of e-mental health interventions for treating and preventing EDs, paying attention to whether trial quality and outcomes have improved in recent trials. We also assessed whether user-centered design principles have been implemented in existing digital interventions. METHOD: Four databases were searched for RCTs of digital interventions for treating and preventing EDs. Thirty-six RCTs (28 prevention- and 8 treatment-focused) were included. RESULTS: = 0.29 to 0.69), respectively. Effect sizes have not increased in recent trials. Few trials compared a digital intervention with a face-to-face intervention. Whether digital interventions can prevent ED onset is unclear. CONCLUSION: Digital interventions are a promising approach to ED treatment and prevention, but improvements are still needed. Three key recommendations are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Linardon et al. (Thu,) studied this question.