Recruitment for an adolescent bulimia nervosa treatment study.

OBJECTIVE

This objective of this study was to investigate the recruitment rate for a clinical treatment trial for adolescents with bulimia nervosa.

METHOD: Recruitment rates for a 5-year randomized controlled trial for adolescent bulimia nervosa were analyzed.

RESULTS

Although the rate of randomization fluctuated over the course of the study, the overall rate of participants recruited was fairly consistent. The number of participants who were assessed for the study but who did not qualify, and the number of participants who qualified for the study but who chose not to join, were also consistent.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that it is feasible to recruit adolescents for a bulimia nervosa treatment trial. A better understanding of the reasons behind a participant's decision to stay in a treatment study versus discontinue a treatment study, as well as differences between adult and adolescent patients, could aid in the design of future treatment studies.