Smartphone-based Aftercare for Inpatients With Bulimia Nervosa

Inpatient treatment for patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) is recommended in extreme or severe cases and/or after failure of outpatient treatment and is highly effective. However, a number of patients show symptom increase and relapse after discharge. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a guided smartphone-based aftercare intervention following inpatient treatment of patients with BN to support recovery.

Inclusion Criteria:primary diagnosis of BN (DSM-5: 307.51) at admission as assessed by the diagnostically relevant items from the Eating Disorder Examination (Hilbert et al. 2016b),sex: female,age: from 13 years onwards to 60 years,regular completion of inpatient treatment,at least a length of inpatient stay of 6 weeks,remission defined as less than once a week of binge eating and compensatory behavior in the past 28 days thus no longer meeting the full criteria for BN according to DSM-5,owner of a smartphone,informed consent of the patient and, in case of minors, also of the parents.Exclusion Criteria:major depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) > 29 at discharge),suicidal tendency (item 9 of BDI-II > 1 at discharge),very high level of care after inpatient treatment (e.g. therapeutic living community, day clinic),pregnancy.