The clinical and cost effectiveness of a STAndardised DIagnostic Assessment for children and adolescents with emotional difficulties: the STADIA multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Standardised Diagnostic Assessment tools, such as the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), may aid detection and diagnosis of emotional disorders but there is limited real-world evidence of their clinical or cost effectiveness.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, two-arm parallel group randomised controlled trial in eight large National Health Service Trusts in England providing multidisciplinary specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Participants (5-17 year-olds with emotional difficulties referred to CAMHS) were randomly assigned (1:1), following referral receipt, to either receive the DAWBA and assessment-as-usual (intervention group) or assessment-as-usual (control group).