The effects of a peer co-led educational programme for parents of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Brukerinvolvering skal sikre at foreldrene og pårørende innen BUP deltar aktivt i barnets behandling. Brukerinvolvering stiller krav til foreldrene og terapeuter og forutsetter at foreldre/pårørende får tilstrekkelig informasjon om behandlingsmuligheter og at terapeuter tilrettelegger slikt at foreldre og deres barn har reel mulighet til å medvirke. Foreldre til barn med ADHD møter mange utfordringer med å håndtere barnets problemer i hverdagen, som både sosial isolasjon, anstrengte relasjoner og pågående frustrasjoner med helsevesen og skole. Opplæringsprogrammet i dette prosjektet ønsker å styrke foreldrenes mulighet til å bli i stand til å forstå og få nødvendige ferdigheter på vegne av sine barn. Programmet vurderes å være innovativt og viktig, og kan enkelt implementeres i klinisk praksis i alle BUP'er, og for helsepersonell inkluderer det også å forstå hvilke utfordringer foreldrene står overfor, fremme relasjoner mellom foreldre, og etablere samarbeid med foreldre og deres barn med spesielle behov. Studiene vil blant annet kunne gi svar på om de psykometriske egenskapene til spørreskjemaene vi bruker er reliable og valide ved norske forhold, om tiltakene øker foreldrenes aktivering og tilfredshet med behandlingen i BUP, og om tiltaket fører til behandlingsetterlevelse og endring i symptomnivå.

A total of 50 parents will be randomized in order to investigate the baseline and three month effects of a one-day peer co-led educational programme on parent activation in relation their childs health and health care, also monitoring parent satisfaction, the parent reported SNAP-IV ADHD scale, and the clinician-rated CGAS. The control group will receive the same intervention, but according to a waiting list and intervention within 3 months. This pilot-RCT intends evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of delivering and evaluating a peer co-led educational group to inform a larger scale randomized study that will allow for a more rigorous assessment of the impact of the intervention. We will explicit investigate whether parents are willing to participate in feasibility research evaluation, exploring acceptability (assess attendance and client satisfaction) and reasons for ineligibility, as well as the retention of the study (including baseline, intervention and 3-month follow-up). Additionally we will investigate the most appropriate primary outcome (informed by qualitative feedback, feasibility data, standard deviation (SD) and effect size estimates). Thus, our sample size is related to the number of patients required to enrol at each site, opinions about the questionnaires, and satisfaction with the intervention. Consequently, the anticipated sample will be 50 parents - 25 parents in each arm.

This protocol describes a feasibility trial that seek to study the efficacy of a peer co-led educational programme, how it influences parent activation, and its association with parent satisfaction, adherence to treatment, and the reduction of ADHD symptoms. The study will be reported in accordance with the Template for Interventions Description and Replication and the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials.

To be eligible for this study, parents of a child of 6–15 years of age with ADHD have to be referred to the paediatric psychiatric outpatient clinic in St. Olavs Hospital and have to understand Norwegian. The intervention has been available for parents at St. Olav’s Hospital for several years, though this has not been evaluated. To test if the method and questionnaires are reliable, a clinical feasibility study is warranted. For the feaibility study, parents will be recruited and randomly assigned to a intervention group: a peer co-led educational programme presented shortly thereafter, or to a treatment as usual group, a peer co-led educational group based on a waiting list, that is, the intervention will be effected within approximately 3 months (the control group). There is a need for approximately 25 participants in each cohort.