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Objective: The relative merits of inpatient or day‐treatment for adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) are unknown. The DAISIES trial aimed to establish the non‐inferiority of a stepped‐care day patient treatment (DPT) approach versus inpatient treatment as usual (IP‐TAU) for improving body mass index (BMI) at 12 months in adults with AN. The trial was terminated due to poor recruitment. This paper presents outcomes and investigates the reasons behind the trial's failure. Method: Fifteen patients with AN (of 53 approached) participated and were followed‐up to 6 or 12 months. Summary statistics were calculated due to low sample size, and qualitative data concerning treatment experiences were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: At baseline, participants in both trial arms rated stepped‐care DPT as more acceptable. At 12 months, participants' BMIs had increased in both trial arms. Qualitative analysis highlighted valued and challenging aspects of care across settings. Only 6/12 sites opened for recruitment. Among patients approached, the most common reason for declining participation was their treatment preference (n = 12/38). Conclusions: No conclusions can be drawn concerning the effectiveness of IP‐TAU and stepped‐care DPT, but the latter was perceived more positively. Patient‐related, service‐related and systemic factors (COVID‐19) contributed to the trial's failure. Lessons learnt can inform future studies. Highlights: Patient‐related (e.g., treatment preferences) and service‐related (e.g., reduced service capacity) alongside wider systemic (e.g., increased emergency admissions due to COVID‐19) factors seem to have contributed to the failure of the DAISIES trial.Patients and carers identified valued aspects for both inpatient (e.g., weight gain) and day‐patient (e.g., greater link to home environment) treatment settings, but day‐patient treatment was perceived as a more holistic and collaborative approach, and thus as more positive.Although randomised controlled studies investigating intensive treatments for severe anorexia nervosa are important and necessary, alternative study designs should be explored to overcome implementation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Caring for a young person with anorexia nervosa (AN) has been associated with psychological distress and found to be a traumatic experience. This can have an impact on patient and family outcomes. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether self‐blame cognitions contribute to post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in parents of young people with AN. Methods: A cross‐sectional design was used. One hundred and twenty‐three parents of young people with AN completed a range of questionnaires assessing self‐blame cognitions and PTSD symptoms. Results: Overall, levels of self‐blame cognitions were significantly higher in those experiencing higher levels of PTSD symptoms compared to low levels. Additionally, levels of self‐blame cognitions significantly predicted PTSD symptoms over and above demographic factors and illness severity, accounting for 22% of unique variance in PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: The findings suggest that negative appraisals regarding self‐blame for their child's eating disorder contributed to the potential maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Parents presenting with thoughts of self‐blame would benefit from further support to reduce these feelings and, subsequently, reduce carer distress. Highlights: Self‐blame cognitions and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were prevalent in parents of young people with Anorexia Nervosa.Self‐blame cognitions were more prevalent in parents experiencing high PTSD symptoms compared to those who do not. This relationship remained after controlling for subjective and objective threat of death and parental history of trauma, indicating the significant, independent role of self‐blame in the maintenance on PTSD symptoms.Self‐blame predicted 22% of PTSD symptoms, over and above demographic factors associated with PTSD, parental trauma history, and objective and subjective threat of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]