Role o school teachers in identifying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among primary school children in Mansoura, Egypt

Abstract

There is a knowledge gap in primary school teachers that affects their ability to detect attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study measured primary school teachers' knowledge about ADHD, and implemented a training programme to improve early detection of ADHD. The prevalence and risk factors of ADHD were also studied. The training programme was implemented through a 2-day workshop for 39 primary school teachers who completed a validated Arabic version of the ADHD Rating Scale for 873 primary school children. The children's parents completed the questionnaire to explore ADHD risk factors. The teachers' pre-training knowledge scores of ADHD ranged from 17.9 to 46.2%. Post-training, their scores improved significantly to 69.2-94.9%. Prevalence rate of ADHD was 12.60%. On logistic regression, independent predictors of ADHD were female gender, unemployed fathers and rural residence. In conclusion, ADHD is a significant health problem among primary school children in Mansoura, Egypt. Efforts should be made to improve teachers' knowledge about ADHD and control modifiable risk factors. RÉSUMÉ Il existe certaines lacunes en matière de connaissances des enseignants du primaire qui affecte leur capacité à détecter le trouble de déficit de l'attention avec hyperactivité (TDHA). La présente étude a permis de mesurer les connaissances de ces enseignants à cet égard et de mettre en place un programme de formation visant à améliorer le dépistage précoce du TDAH. La prévalence et les facteurs de risque de ce trouble ont par ailleurs été examinés. Le programme de formation a été mis en place sous la forme d'un atelier de deux jours destiné à 39 enseignants du primaire qui ont réalisé une évaluation du TDAH pour 873 élèves du primaire en utilisant une version arabe validée de l'échelle. Les parents des élèves ont rempli un questionnaire visant à déterminer les facteurs de risque du TDAH. Les scores à l'échelle d'évaluation du TDAH portant sur la connaissance des enseignants avant la formation allaient de 17,9 % à 46,2 %, et affichaient une nette amélioration après formation (69,2 % à 94,9 %). Le taux de prévalence du TDAH était de 12,60 %. La régression logistique a révélé que les variables indépendantes étaient l'appartenance au sexe féminin, le chômage du père et la résidence en milieu rural. En conclusion, le TDAH représente un problème de santé important parmi les élèves du primaire à Mansoura, en Égypte. Des efforts doivent être déployés pour améliorer les connaissances des enseignants sur le TDAH et contrôler les facteurs de risque modifiables. ‫بمرص‬ ‫املنصورة‬ ‫يف‬ ‫االبتدائية‬ ‫املدارس‬ ‫أطفال‬ ‫لدى‬‫املتوسط‬ ‫لرشق‬ ‫الصحية‬ ‫املجلة‬ ‫العرشون‬ ‫و‬ ‫الثاين‬ ‫املجلد‬ ‫الثامن‬ ‫العدد‬ 587

Acceptability and Feasibility of Early Identification of Mental Health Difficulties in Primary Schools: A Qualitative Exploration of UK School Staff and Parents’ Perceptions

“…Students identified by staff members as having MHDs are interviewed by a designated member of staff who determines whether referral to relevant supportive services is necessary and notifies parents. Studies that examined the effectiveness of staff training reported improvements to accurate identification of students with adverse childhood experiences, anxiety and ADHD (Awadalla, Ali, Elshaer, & Eissa, 1995;Hillman & Siracusa, 1995). However, this evidence is limited when compared to research on screening programmes that seek to identify a broad range of MHDs (Vander Stoep et al, 2005).…”

Schoolteachers’ Knowledge of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder—Current Status and Effectiveness of Knowledge Improvement Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…A self-administered questionnaire, which was developed by Awadalla et al [ 10 ], was used to evaluate teachers’ knowledge about ADHD. This questionnaire was in the Arabic language and it has a content validity index amounted to 0.97 and alpha Cronbach’s value of 0.79.…”

“…Different questionnaires and self-reports are available to assess teachers’ impressions of a potential student with ADHD. The most common tool used was Conners’ rating scales [ 10 ]. In Saudi Arabia, there are indications that teachers may not have enough knowledge about ADHD [ 11 , 12 ].…”

The female side of pharmacotherapy for ADHD—A systematic literature review

“…The worldwide prevalence estimates of ADHD in school-age children and adolescents vary considerably across countries, ranging from very low rates of 0.6% in girls and 2.8% in boys [9] to high rates of 10.5% in girls and 14.4% in boys [10]. Female-to-male ratios reported also vary considerably with female-to-male ratios between 1:3 and 1:1.5 in population-based studies [11][12][13] and between 1:5 and 1:9 in clinical samples [14]. ADHD has been diagnosed more frequently across both sexes in the last decade and a half [15,16].…”