Professor Mara Violato and Dr Shuye Yu from Oxford Population Health’s Health Economics Research Centre are part of a multidisciplinary study team that has been nominated for a prestigious Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) award. The awards recognise those at the forefront of advancements in child and adolescent mental health research and practice.
The Child Anxiety Treatment in the context of COVID-19 (Co-CAT) study set out to test whether an online, parent-led with therapist support, programme worked as well as existing services offered to help children with anxiety problems, and represented good value for money throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Dr Shuye Yu, Researcher at Oxford Population Health, said ‘The Co-CAT study shows how digital approaches can make a real difference for children experiencing anxiety problems. Building on this research helps ensure more children and families can benefit from effective, cost-effective, and accessible mental health support.’
Mara and Shuye led cost-effectiveness analyses, showing that the online programme brought promising savings without compromising patient outcomes. The intervention represents a valuable tool for increasing access to psychological therapies and meeting the growing demand for treatment of child anxiety problems. The Co-CAT study intervention was one of four online therapies for anxiety and PTSD that were made available to the NHS last year.
Mara Violato, Professor of Health Economics at Oxford Population Health, said ‘As a health economist, I feel truly honoured to be recognised for this award as part of the Co-CAT study team. This nomination celebrates what can be achieved when people from different disciplines come together with a shared purpose. Clinicians, health economists, statisticians, qualitative researchers, and people with lived experience have all worked side by side to improve mental health care for children.’
The Co-CAT team have been shortlisted in the Research on Digital Impact category for the digital impact of their research relating to child and adolescent mental health. Professor Cathy Creswell, Co-CAT study lead from Oxford University’s Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry has also been shortlisted for the Research into Practice category. Awards will be presented at a virtual ceremony on Thursday 30 October 2025.