GLOW-CAT: Sustaining and Scaling Online Support and Intervention (OSI) for child anxiety problems in diverse international settings

Online Support and Intervention (OSI) is a brief, therapist‑guided, parent‑led online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy platform for children aged 5–12 years with anxiety problems. Co‑designed with children, parents and clinicians in England, it has demonstrated clinical and cost‑effectiveness in the UK and is now being implemented in child mental health services by Koa Health. By requiring relatively little therapist input and achieving strong outcomes even when delivered by non‑specialist practitioners, OSI offers a scalable approach to increasing access to care.

This international collaboration, which brings together researchers, commercial partners, lived‑experience experts and key stakeholders across the UK, Japan, Chile, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Iceland, aims to extend and adapt OSI for diverse populations and settings, ensuring cultural relevance and broad applicability. The programme will adapt the intervention, refine identification and assessment methods, test feasibility, evaluate real‑world clinical and cost‑effectiveness, conduct pooled analyses to maximise insights, support large‑scale implementation and foster collaboration, stakeholder engagement and research capacity building across countries.

Funder: Wellcome

See project website for more.