title: Clinician adherence to guidelines in the delivery of family-based therapy for eating disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinicians have been shown to drift away from protocol in their delivery of evidence-based treatments. This study explores this phenomenon in the delivery of family-based therapy (FBT) for eating disorders, and the clinician characteristics that might explain such therapist drift.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants were 117 clinicians who reported using FBT for eating disorders. They completed an online survey, which included questions relating to clinician characteristics, caseload, and reported use of FBT manuals and core therapeutic tasks, as well as a measure of anxiety.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The use of core FBT tasks was higher than for other therapies, but there were still noteworthy gaps between recommended and reported practice. Approximately a third of clinicians reported delivering "FBT" that deviated very substantially from evidence-based protocols, often appearing to be on an individual therapy basis. Using an FBT manual to guide treatment delivery was associated with greater adherence to recommended techniques. Clinician caseload and anxiety were associated with differences in the use of specific FBT tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent with previous research regarding clinicians' use of other therapies, the delivery of FBT for the eating disorders is not homogeneous.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further investigation of this phenomenon is needed to determine the impact of deviating from treatment protocols on the effectiveness of FBT for the eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Canada.
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kosmerly
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafrance Robinson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards
keywords: eating disorders; evidence-based practice; family-based treatment