Surveys Regarding Diagnosis And Management Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) In Accordance With UK NICE Guidance

Rationale

The latest NICE guidance on management of ADHD was published in the UK in September 2008, updated in 2016 and reviewed in 2017. Parents of, and young people with ADHD often feel mismanaged; I looked at whether this was an accurate reflection of care.

Objective

To assess whether healthcare professionals are adhering to national guidance; and whether patients and their carers felt that their management was appropriate.

Methods

I created surveys based on the current NICE recommendations, and advertised them through social media and support groups for patients such as `Adders`.

Results

47 paediatric doctors and 6 psychiatrists completed the survey. 41% of these professionals assess young people with ADHD at least once a week. 62% of professionals had read the NICE guidance. I measured a range of 47-95% of recommended questions that were covered by healthcare professionals regarding general management, and 74-97% for questions on medication. 69-86% of professionals offered behavioural courses as recommended.

15 young people with ADHD and their parents completed the survey. According to this, ADHD diagnosis was supplied by paediatricians in 47%, and mental health specialists in 47%. Corresponding with the recommended questions in the professionals survey, this group stated 25-83% of the general recommended questions had been asked.

Conclusions

The assessment was limited by the smaller number of patients/parents completing the survey, with some skipping questions. However, parents and patients reported less fulfillment of criteria in the guidance; the average feedback score was 41% with 0 being unhappy and 50 being neutral.