Over 1000 people volunteer for national STADIA trial
Researchers at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) have helped the national STADIA trial team recruit over 1000 participants, to improve assessment and diagnosis of emotional difficulties for children and young people.
The STADIA trial launched in 2019 to investigate whether a standardised diagnostic assessment tool, the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), supports health professionals working with families in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
CPFT is the top recruiting site for this study, assisted by the Trust’s specialist Windsor Research Unit. Clinical research practitioners Emma Tudor and Codie Fahey have helped around 250 young people and parents sign up across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the eastern region – one quarter of the UK trial’s participants.
CPFT Principal Investigator and CAMHS consultant psychiatrist Dr Anupam Bhardwaj said: “This is a major milestone for the study and CPFT, achieved through the commitment and hard work of the Windsor Research Unit, especially Emma and Codie and our CAMHS Single Point of Access team. They have provided exceptional support to this study, despite immense pressures and continuous changes experienced over the past year.
"Thank you to everyone at CPFT supporting this study, and all the young people, parents and carers helping us with this important research.”
Professor Kapil Sayal, NIHR Senior Investigator and national STADIA lead at the Institute of Mental Health said: “Receiving the right help at the right time can make a huge difference to the lives of children, young people and families. The STADIA trial aims to improve care and inform day-to-day clinical practice and guidelines by evaluating approaches to assessing mental health difficulties in children and young people referred to CAMHS."
The national research team are working with NHS staff to find more effective, value for money and easy-to-use assessment tools to better diagnose commonly referred mental health difficulties, such as depression and anxiety. This should help ensure children and young people can access appropriate, timely support to make a quicker recovery.”
Following assessment, study participants are monitored for up to a year to assess the impact on their emotional difficulties, day-to-day functioning, and quality of life.
Children and young people are taking part in the trial, with their parents and carers, from these seven sites across England:
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
This study is led by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Nottingham and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (Grant Reference Number 16/96/09).
