Picture: Front cover of the Evaluation of the Under 18s Elements of Distress Brief Intervention Report

The Scottish Government has now published the report of the independent evaluation elements of the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme which affect under 18s.

We are grateful to the contractors (ScotCen – Scottish Centre for Social Research, working with the University of Stirling and Children in Scotland) for their work on the evaluation.

DBI Central will be working with the Scottish Government and the wider DBI community around how the report’s findings and recommendations can contribute to our thinking about future development in DBI, and about wider policy and action on supports to young people experiencing distress and crisis.

This evaluation, builds on a separate but related evaluation into the core DBI programme, published in May 2022: Distress Brief Intervention Pilot Programme evaluation: findings report – gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Jessica Shields from the Scottish Centre for Social Research, who led the multi-agency evaluation consortium, said: “We are pleased to see the publication of the evaluation of the under 18s elements of DBI, which was led by the Scottish Centre for Social Research in collaboration with the University of Stirling and Children in Scotland. DBI is Scotland’s unique response to distress and this evaluation of its expansion to younger age groups shows promising outcomes in the experiences of young people who have received support from DBI and the views of those who have been involved in designing and delivering DBI. The recommendations of the evaluation will assist the development of DBI for under 18s in the future.”

Professor Rory O’Connor from University of Glasgow’s School of Health & Wellbeing who led the DBI training and intervention development said: “I really welcome the publication of the independent evaluation of the under 18s extension of the DBI programme. Given the increasing rates of mental health problems in young people, tailoring DBI to the needs of those experiencing distress is absolutely vital.  The findings of the evaluation will help us to shape the delivery of DBI moving forward to ensure that those who need help get the best support available.”

Duncan Clark, National DBI Children & Young Persons Clinical Advisor, who provided support and expertise throughout the delivery of DBI to Children and Young People to enable the evaluation said: “The extension of DBI to children and young people in the pilot areas, represented outstanding collaboration between education, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, Third Sector DBI Providers, University of Glasgow and the evaluation team. I thank all those involved, most importantly, the young people who received DBI support. DBI is transforming the support received by young people in distress and we look forward to reflecting on the findings and recommendations to inform our shared commitment to deliver the best connected compassionate support possible”.

Read the full evaluation report below:

 Background Note

The evaluation looked at the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme, which has two levels.

Level 1 sees front-line colleagues in areas such as Emergency Departments, police, ambulance service, primary care and NHS 24, trained to ease a person’s distress. With the person’s agreement, they then refer the person to the DBI level 2 service, with the promise of support within 24 hours.

Level 2 is provided by commissioned and trained third sector staff who contact the person within 24-hours of referral and provides around 14 days of:

  • Problem solving support
  • Wellness and distress management planning
  • Supported connections
  • Signposting

This evaluation of the under 18s elements of Distress Brief Intervention focused specifically on the DBI implementation for children and young people.