Based on the facts that not all individuals at risk for the development of an eating disorder actually become ill and not all of those who develop the disorder benefit from the same type, duration, and intensity of care, the innovative contribution of INTACT can be seen in the development of individually tailored treatment and stepped care interventions.

The INTACT research program consists of 15 studies and is organized in 5 work packages spanning the whole spectrum from research on psychological, biological, genetic, and socio-cultural risk factors (WP1), prevention and early interventions (WP2), treatment process-outcome (WP3), and relapse prevention and aftercare interventions (WP4).

A major topic of the research program is e-mental health. Following the idea of stepped care, the efficacy of Internet-delivered programs that promise to optimize care before (step-up) and after (step-down) regular treatment is studied in RCTs at several centers. The e-health tools (WP5) are provided by the partners in Lausanne (cooperating with Geneva) and Heidelberg (cooperating with Braga, St.Etienne, Budapest and Prague).

Research into risk factors and therapeutic processes on the one hand and the development and evaluation of Internet-delivered stepped care interventions on the other will provide new insights into both the development of and the recovery from eating disorders. The major breakthrough to be expected from INTACT is the description of strategies for a better allocation of therapeutic resources which will ultimately help to optimise the match between patients’ needs and the type, intensity and duration of treatment they receive.