Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Participant

 Primary caregiver

The parent, primary caregiver or legal guardian of the child, including mother or father, foster parent, or other guardian, who provides primary and regular care to the child.

Sibling, grandparent or other relative who is not the primary care provider of the child.

 Children aged 0–12

At least 75% of children in study below 13 years of age at the time of the diagnostic assessment or, where mean age of children is not included and median given, the median age below 12 years of age.

Children primarily above 12 years of age at the time of the diagnostic assessment.

Study includes a 50–50 mix of children and adolescents

Study does not involve children waiting for diagnostic assessment.

 Waiting

Study period follows referral to, or registration with a health service, and is prior to diagnostic assessment.

Study period is primarily prior to referral or registration with health service.

Study period follows diagnostic assessment.

 Diagnostic assessment at a health service

Diagnostic assessment is any assessment where an aspect of a child’s mental, physical, behavioural or developmental status or well-being is being assessed for the purpose of a diagnosis.

Health service is any inpatient our outpatient health service, hospital or community-based, and may include mental health services, general practitioner services, secondary or tertiary team or individual assessments.

An assessment which is primarily for the purpose of therapy provisions only.

An assessment which follows a diagnosis.

Intervention

 Parent-directed

An intervention directed to a parent or primary caregiver as defined above.

Intervention is not directed to the parent or primary caregiver, e.g. child-directed interventions or sibling group programmes, or parent training so they can deliver an intervention to their child.

 Type

Intervention that targets knowledge, behaviour or actions and may include information provision, individualised or group-based education programmes, online programmes, face-to-face therapies, telephone or teleconference-delivered interventions.

Medical device or pharmaceutical-related intervention

Comparator

 Usual care

Any defined usual care provision, including waiting on waiting list, or measured lag between referral and initial diagnostic assessment

Usual care that does not occur in conjunction with a waiting period prior to a diagnostic assessment, as defined above, including care that occurs prior to the referral, or after the diagnostic assessment.

 Other intervention

Any child- or parent-directed intervention occurring whilst waiting for diagnostic assessment, as listed above.

Any intervention that does not occur in conjunction with a waiting period prior to a diagnostic assessment, as defined above, including interventions that occur prior to the referral, or after the diagnostic assessment.

Outcome

 Primary outcome

Any

None

 Secondary outcome

Any

None