ArticleJournal of eating disorders2021
"I'm truly free from my eating disorder": Emerging adults' experiences of FREED, an early intervention service model and care pathway for eating disorders.
Article in Journal of eating disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transition From Child to Adult Eating Disorder Services: A Qualitative Meta-Aggregation.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026Pooled it
- Understanding Disordered Eating Attitudes and Patterns in University Students and the Relationship to Campus Dining Services.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Recent Innovations in Eating Disorder Prevention and Early Intervention.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- "I could be living a totally different life right now": lived experience and caregiver perspectives on the prevention of eating disorders.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- "I thought if my parents got involved, then they'd make me get better": emerging adults' experiences of support from family and friends during anorexia nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Redefining prevention and early intervention to include longstanding and severe eating disorders.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Intersectionality in help-seeking for eating disorders: a systematic scoping review.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Review
- The current clinical approach to feeding and eating disorders aimed to increase personalization of management.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Article
- Evaluation of an online modular eating disorders training (PreparED) to prepare healthcare trainees: a survey study.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Beyond generalized anxiety: the association of anxiety sensitivity with disordered eating.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- Reimagining eating disorder spaces: a qualitative study exploring Māori experiences of accessing treatment for eating disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- "Early intervention isn't an option, it's a necessity": learning from implementation facilitators and challenges from the rapid scaling of an early intervention eating disorders programme in England.Frontiers in health services · 2023Article
- A Narrative Review of Early Intervention for Eating Disorders: Barriers and Facilitators.Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics · 2023Review
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral numbers, diagnostic mix, and symptom severity in Eating Disorder Early Intervention Services in England.The International journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEating disorders (EDs) typically start during adolescence or emerging adulthood, periods of intense biopsychosocial development. FREED (First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for EDs) is a service model and care pathway providing rapid access to developmentally-informed care for emerging adults with EDs. FREED is associated with reduced duration of untreated eating disorder and improved clinical outcomes, but patients' experiences of treatment have yet to be assessed.
objectiveThis study aimed to assess emerging adults' experiences of receiving treatment through FREED.
methodThis study triangulated qualitative data on participants' experiences of FREED treatment from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Participants were 106 emerging adults (aged 16-25; illness duration < 3 yrs) (questionnaire only = 92; interview only = 6; both = 8). Data were analysed thematically.
resultsMost participants reported psychological and behavioural changes over the course of treatment (e.g. reduction in symptoms; increased acceptance and understanding of difficulties). Participants identified five beneficial characteristics of FREED treatment: i) rapid access to treatment; ii) knowledgeable and concerned clinicians; iii) focusing on life beyond the eating disorder; iv) building a support network; v) becoming your own therapist.
conclusionThis study provides further supports for the implementation of early intervention and developmentally-informed care for EDs. Future service model development should include efforts to increase early help-seeking.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.