Trial reportBMC psychiatry2015
Cost-effectiveness analysis of a communication-focused therapy for pre-school children with autism: results from a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence for investing in parenting interventions aiming to improve child health: a systematic review of economic evaluations.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Parent-Implemented Interventions on Outcomes of Children with Autism: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review of observational, naturalistic, and neurophysiological outcome measures of nonpharmacological interventions for autism.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2022Pooled it
- Contributing factors to healthcare costs in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2022Pooled it
- Do Costs in the Education Sector Matter? A Systematic Literature Review of the Economic Impact of Psychosocial Problems on the Education Sector.PharmacoEconomics · 2021Pooled it
- Interventions based on early intensive applied behaviour analysis for autistic children: a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Sleeping Sound Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Cost-Effectiveness of a Brief Behavioural Sleep Intervention in Primary School-Aged Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Trial
- A modified video-feedback intervention for carers of foster children aged 6 years and under with reactive attachment disorder: a feasibility study and pilot RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2022Trial
- Trial
- A video-feedback parenting intervention to prevent enduring behaviour problems in at-risk children aged 12-36 months: the Healthy Start, Happy Start RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2021Trial
- Cost Offset Associated With Early Start Denver Model for Children With Autism.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Gut to brain interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorders: a randomized controlled trial on the role of probiotics on clinical, biochemical and neurophysiological parameters.BMC psychiatry · 2016Trial
- Article
- Article
- Article
- Economic evaluation of caregiver interventions for children with developmental disabilities: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Caregivers' expectations of their non-verbal autistic children in rural KwaZulu-Natal.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2024Article
- Economic analysis of early intervention for autistic children: findings from four case studies in England, Ireland, Italy, and Spain.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAutism is associated with impairments that have life-time consequences for diagnosed individuals and a substantial impact on families. There is growing interest in early interventions for children with autism, yet despite the substantial economic burden, there is little evidence of the cost-effectiveness of such interventions with which to support resource allocation decisions. This study reports an economic evaluation of a parent-mediated, communication-focused therapy carried out within the Pre-School Autism Communication Trial (PACT).
methods152 pre-school children with autism were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or PACT + TAU. Primary outcome was severity of autism symptoms at 13-month follow-up. Economic data included health, education and social services, childcare, parental productivity losses and informal care.
resultsClinically meaningful symptom improvement was evident for 53 % of PACT + TAU versus 41 % of TAU (odds ratio 1.91, p = 0.074). Service costs were significantly higher for PACT + TAU (mean difference £4,489, p < 0.001), but the difference in societal costs was smaller and non-significant (mean difference £1,385, p = 0.788) due to lower informal care rates for PACT + TAU.
conclusionsImprovements in outcome generated by PACT come at a cost. Although this cost is lower when burden on parents is included, the cost and effectiveness results presented do not support the cost-effectiveness of PACT + TAU compared to TAU alone.
trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN58133827.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.